Guitar-music-my soul

Learning to play an instrument is not easy and requires a lot of time and discipline. You want to optimize your practice conditions to learn as fast and easy as possible. A decent standard guitar with a good sound is the first thing you need. Anything less will make learning more difficult, slow down your progress and will make you believe you just don't have the talent or the discipline or the patience to learn it. My first guitar was a borrowed guitar from the music school. At the time I could not hear when a guitar was out of tune but even my totally untrained beginners ears could hear that it was an awful guitar. It sounded dark, flat and ugly and I was embarrassed to bring that to my teacher. Needless to say how frustrated it was to learn to play on it. Despite the guitar I practised every day, my parents saw that I was serious and three months later I had my own guitar, a brand new nylon string classical Yamaha guitar. Choose your instrument with care. So how do you go out and buy a good standard guitar without having to spent a ton of money not knowing where the threshold is between a good guitar and one of poor quality? Don't just go out with a couple hundred dollars choosing a guitar within that budget. The price of a guitar goes from a hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. Obviously the more expensive the better the guitar but for six to seven hundred dollars you can buy a decent one that goes a long way. It's is not cheap but far from expensive and it's worth saving until you have the money because over time a good guitar will become a better guitar while a bad guitar will never be a good one. What makes a great instrument - Things to look out for. If you have untrained ears ask someone with experience to go with you. You want to make sure that the guitar doesn't have invisible damage or issues.

• Check the tuning : Tune the guitar or ask someone to tune it for you. If a guitar has tuning issues it will definitely go out of tune within fifteen minutes of playing on it.
  

• Check that all pickups work : Plug in the guitar and try every pickup setting using the switch. You should hear a clear difference in tone. There is a tone knob. Make sure it's all the way open(turn clockwise)while you check the pickups. Turning it counter clockwise will filter out the high frequencies.

• Check the neck : If you can't play yet you don't know what feels comfortable and what doesn't but you should be able to easily slide up and down the neck. Doing so let your fingers and thump hang over the edges onto the fret board to check that frets don't have any sharp edges sticking out. It shouldn't hurt.

• Check the pretuning : Guitars are pretuned in the factory. What does that mean? The pitch of the harmonic on fret twelve should be identical to the open string. If that is not the case the guitar cannot be tuned properly.

• Check the frets : Turn the guitar horizontal holding the lower end of the body near you face so you can look down the fretboard. All the frets should be parallel. This is most often the case but double check.

• Try several guitars : If you have set your mind for instance to buy a Fender Stratocaster tryout a few guitars. Every single guitar sounds different. You might prefer a black guitar but find that you really like the sound of the blue one.

Buying the right guitar may not be an easy choice for you. It can be so frustrating and exasperating that sometimes you will just feel like buying the next guitar you see just so that you can stop your search once and for all. Worse if you the easily frustrated type, you may even feel like giving up the idea of learning how to play the guitar altogether.

• Every person will have a different set of criteria when choosing a good guitar. However, chances are that you may not always be able to satisfy all of them at once. Just have a little patience and look around as much as you can so that will not regret later that you have bought a wrong guitar. Don't just buy the first guitar you see, visit as many guitar stores as you can just to get an idea of what is on offer.

• You probably will have friends who are experienced guitarists, so go and ask them for advice on how to choose a good quality guitar for you. Someone who has been playing the guitar for sometime will be able to show you where to choose the best guitars for the best price. Better yet, ask them if they are willing to accompany you to check out the guitars.

• If you aspire to be a proficient guitarist, buying a guitar not suitable for you would not only get you shortchanged but it might also disillusion you and dampens your enthusiasm. For this reason, it is always recommended that buy your guitar from reputed brands such as Yamaha, Ibanez, Fender, Gibson, Ovation and Martin just to list a few of them.

• You don't have to get embarrassed when trying out and testing the guitar at the shop since you will be the one who is paying for the guitar. When inspecting a guitar, lookout for sloppy gluing and also make sure that the guitar has a good solid top.

• Play the guitar as loudly as you want to because this is the best way of listening to its tonal quality. Play on every fret on the guitar neck to make sure that there are no fret buzzes. Also never pay the listed price for a guitar, so do some hard bargaining with the sales staff and you may get a handsome discount.

• If buying a brand new guitar is out of your tight budget, you may wish to consider getting a good quality second hand guitar. This is also an option especially so if your enthusiasm on being a guitarist is just a passing fad.

Do you want to know about the popular brands of electric guitars?

There is a long list of popular electric guitar brands. Information about some of the most popular ones among them is given below.


Fender:

Fender is a very renowned name in the arena of electric guitars. Mr. Leo Fender introduced this company in the year 1946. For times, Fender has supplied series of brilliant electric guitars. Their guitars are used in every genre of music. Like, rock, pop, rock and roll etc. They have got different models of electric guitars like, VG Stratocaster, American Deluxe telecaster, Showmaster FAT HH (Flame Ash Top), Showmaster QMT HH (Quilt Maple Top) etc.

Ibanez:

Ibanez is another popular brand of electric guitars. Mr. Hoshino Gakki started this company in 1978. Ibanez have a varied range of electric guitars. Like, Ibanez RG220, Ibanez IJX40, Ibanez GRG170DX, and Ibanez SZ320 etc. Ibanez has made some brand new guitars in 2007. They are, Xiphos XPT700 (X Series), V Blade VBT700 (X Series), RG 8 String RG2228 (RG Series).

Gibson

This is one of the best among popular brands of electric guitars. Mr. Orville Gibson founded this company in 1902. Some brilliant models of Gibson electric guitars are, Gibson ES175 Reissue Electric Guitar, Gibson ES137 Custom Electric Guitar, Gibson Standard SG Electric Guitar, and Gibson SG Standard Left Handed Electric Guitar.

Washburn:

This company was started in Chicago, in the year 1883. From then on it has not stopped creating quality guitars. Washburn WI66PRO Idol Pro Electric Guitar, Washburn HB30 Hollow Body Electric Guitar, Washburn WI64DL TBL Electric Guitars are some of their high in demand guitar models.

Yamaha:

Yamaha is a very old and reputed company. They are somehow different from other popular brands of electric guitars. This company is in the instrument circuit since the end of 1800. But at that time they used to make organs. In 1900 they made piano. And in 1942, they started making guitars. Their guitars are very much popular and loved by various musicians all over the world. Some very popular Yamaha electric guitar models are, Yamaha AES420 BL Guitar, Yamaha AES420 RM Guitar, Yamaha PAC012 Pacifica Electric Guitar Pack BL, and Yamaha PAC012 Pacifica Electric Guitar Pack DBM.

ESP:

ESP is a very famous brand now. E.S.P. stands for Electric Sound Products. At first they used to make replacement parts of other guitars. But from 1976 onwards they started making guitars. ESP LTD Standard M100 guitars, ESP LTD H200 , ESP LTD Standard EX50, ESP LTD Deluxe EC1000 etc. These are some popular brands of electric guitars. These brands of guitars are useful, user friendly, stylish and of good quality. Sometimes they are a bit expensive. But it is worth spending handsome amount of money for real good brands. Overall these brands are very famous and they have a reputation to keep. So you can rely on them and can believe that they won't let you down.

Joseph "Satch" Satriani (born July 15, 1956 in Westbury, New York) is an American multi-instrumentalist, known as an instrumental rock guitarist, who has been nominated for Grammy Awards. Early in his career, Satriani worked as a guitar instructor, and some of his former students have achieved fame with their guitar skills. Satriani has been a driving force behind other musicians throughout his career, as a founder of the ever-changing touring trio, G3, as well as performing in temporary positions with other musicians.

In 1988, Satriani was recruited by the The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger as lead guitarist for the singer's second solo tour. Later, in 1994, Satriani was the lead guitarist for Deep Purple. Satriani worked with a range of guitarists from many musical genres, including Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Larry LaLonde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Brian May, Patrick Rondat, Andy Timmons, Paul Gilbert, Adrian Legg, and Robert Fripp through the annual G3 Jam Concerts.

He is heavily influenced by blues-rock guitar icons such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, possessing, however, his own easily recognizable style. Since 1988, Satriani has been using his own signature guitar, the Ibanez JS Series, which is widely sold in stores. He has a signature series amplifier, the Peavey JSX, and a signature Vox distortion pedal, the Satchurator. He is currently the lead guitarist for the supergroup Chickenfoot.

Technique and influence

Satriani is recognized as a technically advanced rock guitarist, and has been described as a virtuoso. by some publications. He has mastered many performance techniques on the instrument, including legato, two-handed tapping and arpeggio tapping, volume swells, harmonics, and extreme whammy bar effects. One of his trademark compositional traits is the use of pitch axis theory, which he applies with a variety of modes.[citation needed] During fast passages, Joe favors a legato technique (achieved primarily through hammer-ons and pull-offs) which yields smooth and flowing runs. He is also adept at other speed-related techniques such as speed picking (a rapid form of alternate picking) and sweep picking, but does not often use them.

Satriani has received 15 Grammy nominations and has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. Many of his fans and friends call him "Satch," short for "Satriani".

An influential guitarist himself, Satriani has many influences, including jazz guitarists Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, Allan Holdsworth and Charlie Christian, and rock guitarists Jimi Hendrix and Ritchie Blackmore.

Equipment

Satriani has endorsed Ibanez's JS Series guitars, and Peavey's JSX amplifier. Both lines were designed specifically as signature products for Satriani. The Ibanez JS100 was based on and replaced the Ibanez 540 Radius model which Satriani first endorsed. However, Satriani uses a variety of gear. Many of his guitars are made by Ibanez, including the JS1000, and JS1200. These guitars typically feature the DiMarzio PAF Pro (which he used up until 1993 in both the neck and bridge positions), the DiMarzio Fred (which he used in the bridge position from 1993 to 2005), and the Mo' Joe and the Paf Joe (which he uses in the bridge and neck positions, respectively, from 2005 to present day). The JS line of guitars is his signature line, and they feature the Edge Pro, which is Ibanez's exclusive vibrato system, although he's always used the Original Edge unit on his guitars. The guitar with which he was most often associated during the nineties was a chrome-finished guitar nicknamed "Chrome Boy" (this instrument can be seen on the Live in San Francisco DVD). However, the guitar used for most of the concert was in fact a lookalike nicknamed "Pearly", which featured Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups.

Satriani uses a number of other JS models such as the JS double neck model, JS700 (primary axe on the self-titled CD and seen on the 1995 tour "Joe Satriani", which features a fixed bridge, P-90 pickups, and a matching mahogany body and neck), JS6/JS6000 (natural body) , JS1 (the original JS model), JS2000 (fixed bridge model), a variety of JS100s, JS1000s and JS1200s with custom paint work, and a large amount of prototype JSs. All double locking bridges have been the original Edge tremolo, not the newer models, which point to a more custom guitar than the "off the shelf" models. Joe played a red 7-string JS model, seen in the "G3 Live in Tokyo" DVD from 2005.He also has a prototype 24-fret version of the JS which he has used with Chickenfoot.

Satriani has used a wide variety of guitar amps over the years, using Marshall Amplification for his main amplifier (notably the limited edition blue coloured 6100 LM model) up until 2001, and his Peavey signature series amps, the Peavey JSX, thereafter. The JSX began life as a prototype Peavey XXX and developed into the Joe Satriani signature Peavey model, now available for purchase in retail stores. Joe Satriani has used other amplifiers over the years in the studio, however. Those include the Peavey 5150 (used to record the song 'Crystal Planet'), Cornford, and the Mesa/Boogie Mark IIC+ (used to record the song 'Flying in a Blue Dream'), amongst others.

His effects pedals include the Vox wah, Dunlop Cry Baby wah, RMC Wizard Wah, Digitech Whammy, BK Butler Tube Driver, BOSS DS-1, BOSS CH-1, BOSS CE-2, BOSS DD-2 and a standard BOSS DD-3 (used together to emulate reverb effects), BOSS BF-3, BOSS OC-2, Barber Burn Drive Unit, Fulltone Deja Vibe, Fulltone Ultimate Octave, and Electro-Harmonix POG (Polyphonic Octave Generator), the latter being featured prominently on the title cut to his 2006 Super Colossal.

Satriani has partnered with Planet Waves to create a signature line of guitar picks and guitar straps featuring his sketch art.

Although Satriani endorses the JSX, he has used many amps in the studio when recording, including the Peavey Classic. He used Marshall heads and cabinets, including live, prior to his Peavey endorsement. Most recently Satriani used the JSX head through a Palmer Speaker Simulator. Joe Satriani has also released a Class-A 5-watt tube amp called the "Mini Colossal".

He is currently working with Vox on his own line of signature effects pedals designed to deliver Satriani's trademark tone plus a wide range of new sounds for guitarists of all playing styles and ability levels. The first being a signature distortion pedal titled the "Satchurator", and recently, the "Time Machine" which will be a delay pedal, with more to follow in 2008, including a wah pedal called the "Big Bad Wah".

Paul Brandon Gilbert (born November 6, 1966 in Illinois, USA) is an American musician. He is well known for his guitar work with Racer X and Mr. Big, as well as many solo albums. He also joined Joe Satriani and John Petrucci on the 2007 G3 tour.

He has been voted number 4 on a list in GuitarOne magazine of the "Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time", as well as a spot in Guitar World's 50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time list.

Influences and Style

Talking about his influences, Paul mentions many different artists, including: Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony Iommi, Alex Lifeson, Jimmy Page, Robin Trower, Judas Priest, Akira Takasaki, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, Van Halen and The Ramones. Paul has stated many times that he was heavily influenced by his uncle Jimi Kidd who was instrumental in getting Paul interested in playing the guitar. He is also a great fan of The Beach Boys and The Beatles. He states on the Space Ship Live DVD that George Harrison is one of his favorite guitar players. Guitar World magazine declared him one of 50 of the world's fastest guitarists of all time, along with Buckethead, Eddie Van Halen, and Yngwie Malmsteen.

Gilbert composes music in a wide variety of styles including pop, rock, metal, blues, funk and european classical music, but is perhaps best known for his versatility and speed, which helped him be named as one of the "Top 10 Shredders Of All Time" by Guitar One Magazine.

Gear

Paul Gilbert primarily uses his Ibanez PGM signature series guitars, identified by their unique painted "f-holes". Although earlier PGM models featured the Ibanez Lo-Pro/Edge double locking tremolo system, many of his guitars (such as his main PGM300) have since been modified to accommodate a fixed bridge, hence the Ibanez PGM301 series. Along with his signature guitars, Gilbert often uses his sticker-covered "Dino" Ibanez RG750, in addition to a wide variety of Ibanez solidbody and semi-hollow electric guitars. Recently, Gilbert has been using Ibanez "Fireman" (a reversed-body Ibanez Iceman with single-coil pickups and an extra cutaway) guitars, which he designed himself.

Regarding amps, Gilbert used ADA preamps and rack effects units early in his career prior to switching to Laney amplifiers. He praised the Laney amps as having "the best natural distortion of any tube amp ever heard". Since the G3 2007 tour however, Gilbert stated that playing with Joe Satriani and John Petrucci inspired him to take a closer look at his own guitar sound. As a result of his search he found the Marshall Vintage Modern series. He currently uses the Marshall Vintage Modern 2266c combo amps. Paul uses Jim Dunlop Tortex picks, of which he prefers the orange (.60mm) picks.

Paul used the following effects as of his tour of Europe in 2008 (he used 12 effects in total):

* Homebrew Electronics Bajo Mos
* Homebrew Electronics Detox EQ
* Tc electronics nova delay
* Homebrew Electronics compressor retro
* MXR phase 100
* BOSS Digital Delay DD-3
* Ibanez Airplane Flanger
* MXR Blue box
* Homebrew Electronics THC chorus
* Robert Keeley Nova Wah LE
* Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress
* Korg Pitchblack tuner

In 2009, Ibanez released a new PGM model, the Ibanez PGM401, which is rather different from most of Paul's previous models, with an ash body (most of his previous models were made of basswood, although his PGM800 guitar was made of lightweight ash (a similar but different wood than that used in the PGM401), Trifade Burst finish, Cosmo Black hardware and a regular headstock replacing the reversed one of the previous models. Also, rather than the DiMarzio PAF Pro, Tone Zone and Super Distortion pickups used in his previous models, the PGM401 comes with Paul's favorite humbucker model for the past five years, the DiMarzio Air Classics, arranged in a dual humbucker arrangement. Paul has stated that he had the bridge pickup moved 1 mm closer to the neck, which he said results in a warmer and thicker sound, particularly for the high notes he often uses in soloing. The F-holes are 3% smaller, to make the look more balanced with the pickup mounting rings. But perhaps the biggest difference from other current Ibanez guitar models, is that the PGM401 uses the old late-1980s neckjoint, which is thicker than the current neckjoints on other Ibanez guitars.

Guitars

Ibanez PGM Models and variations

* PGM3
* PGM30
* PGM100
* PGM100RE
* PGM200
* PGM300
* PGM301
* PGM400
* PGM401
* PGM500
* PGM600
* PGM700
* PGM800
* PGM900
* PGM10th
* PGM90th
* PGMFRM1

John Peter Petrucci (born July 12, 1967) is an American guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Along with his bandmate Mike Portnoy, he has produced all Dream Theater albums since their 1999 release, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. Petrucci was named as the third player on the G3 tour six times, more than any other invited guitarist. GuitarOne ranked him as the 9th Greatest Shredder of All Time. In 2009 he appeared in the No. 2 position in Joel McIver's book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists.

Musical style

Petrucci is respected for his variety of guitar styles and skills. One of the most notable of these is his high speed alternate picking which, as he himself claims, requires a "strong sense of synchronization between the two [playing] hands." On one of his guitar lesson videos he states that James Hetfield of Metallica had a great influence on him. He has performed alongside such other players as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Paul Gilbert on the G3 tour six times

Endorse

John is a long time Ernie Ball/Music Man endorser who proudly has a 6 and 7 string signature model guitar with called the "John Petrucci BFR". He is also an avid and loyal user/fan of Mesa Boogie amplification as well as a devoted DiMarzio and Dunlop endorser. You can catch John regularly doing clinics/master classes for Ernie Ball and Mesa Boogie in diferent locations throughout the world.

Guitars

• 1 Musicman JP BFR Rubyburst Baritone
• 1 Musicman JP BFR Walnutburst Baritone
• 1 Musicman JP Stealth 7 String
• 1 Musicman JP BFR Blackburst 7 String
• 1 Musicman JP BFR Tobaccoburst
• 1 Musicman JP BFR Dargie Delight II
• 1 Musicman JP BFR Silverburst
• 1 Musicman JP BFR Cherryburst
• 2 Musicman JP BFR Blackburst
• 1 Musicman JP BFR Rubyburst
• 1 Musicman JP Blue Sparkle Doubleneck

• DiMarzio Crunch Lab (Bridge)
• DiMarzio LiquiFire (Neck)

• Ernie Ball

• Jim Dunlop JP Shield Black Jazz III

• Mogami
• Neutrik

Steven "Steve" Siro Vai (born June 6, 1960 in Carle Place, New York) is an Italian American instrumental rock guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, producer, beekeeper, and actor. After starting his professional career as a music transcriptionist for Frank Zappa, Vai would also record and tour in Zappa's backing band starting in 1980. The guitarist began a solo career starting in 1984 and has released 13 solo albums as of 2008. Apart from his work with Frank Zappa, Vai has also recorded and toured with numerous musical artists including Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth and Whitesnake. Vai has been a regular touring member of the G3 Concert Tour which began in 1996. In 1999 Vai started his own record label Favored Nations with the intent to showcase, as Vai describes: "...artists that have attained the highest performance level on their chosen instruments."

Playing style

Vai is widely recognized as a highly technically advanced rock guitarist and has been described as a virtuoso in the world of guitar music. His 1990 album Passion and Warfare and the ballad For the Love of God in particular received a significant amount of press and are often cited by critics and fans alike as amongst his best work to date.

Vai's playing style has been characterized as quirky and angular, owing to his technical ability with the instrument and deep knowledge of music theory. He often uses exotic guitars; he plays both double and triple neck guitars, and is regarded as the first to use the 7-string guitar in a rock context.[citation needed] Along with Ibanez, he designed a signature 7-string guitar, the Ibanez Universe.

Equipment

Vai is an accomplished studio producer (he owns two: "The Mothership" and "The Harmony Hut" and his own recordings combine his signature guitar prowess with novel compositions and considerable use of studio and recording effects.

Vai also helped design his signature Ibanez JEM series of guitars. They feature a hand grip (fondly referred to as a "monkey grip") cut into the top of the body of the guitar, a humbucker-single coil-humbucker DiMarzio pickup configuration with several different types of pickup including Evolution, Breed and EVO 2. He also uses the Ibanez Edge and Lo-Pro Edge double-locking tremolo systems (the current production JEMs have the newer Edge Pro), as well as an elaborate and extensive "Tree of Life" inlay down the neck. Vai also equips many of his guitars with an Ibanez Backstop, a tremolo stabilizer that has been discontinued. Lately Vai has also equipped some of his guitars with True Temperament fretboards in order for his chords to sound completely in tune. Vai also has a 7-string model designed by him named Ibanez Universe. The Universe later influenced the 7-string guitars used by Korn and other bands to create nu metal sounds in the late 1990s. He also has a signature Ibanez acoustic, the Euphoria. Before Ibanez, he briefly endorsed Jackson guitars, but this relationship only lasted two years.

Steve Vai has also worked with Carvin Guitars and Pro Audio to develop the Carvin Legacy line of guitar amplifiers. Vai wanted to create an affordable amp that was unique, and equal in sound and versatility to any guitar amp he had previously used. Over his long musical career, Steve Vai has used and designed an array of guitars. He even had his DNA put into the swirl paint job on one of his signature JEM guitars, the JEM2KDNA, in the form of his blood. Only 300 of these were made. Nowadays he mainly uses his white "Evo", a JEM7V, and his "Flo", which is a customized Floral Jem 77FP painted white. They are both inscribed with their names in two places, mainly in order to allow him to distinguish between the guitars he uses onstage. "Flo" is equipped with a Fernandes sustainer system.

He also has a guitar named "Mojo" in which the dot inlays are blue LED lights. Additionally, he has a custom-made triple-neck guitar that has the same basic features as his JEM7V guitars. The top neck is a 12-string guitar, the middle is a 6-string, and the bottom is a 6-string fretless guitar with a Fernandes Sustainer pickup. This guitar was featured on the G3 2003 tour on the piece I Know You're Here. Vai's effects pedals include a modified Boss DS-1, Ibanez Tube Screamer, Morley Bad Horsie, Ibanez Jemini Twin Distortion Pedal, TC Electronics G-System, Morley Little Alligator Volume pedal, Digitech Whammy, and an MXR Phase 90/Phase 100 on the Passion and Warfare album. His flight cases are labeled "Mr. Vai", or latterly, "Dr. Vai". He used a number of rack effects units controlled via MIDI, but used a floor-based TC electronics G system instead for the Zappa Plays Zappa tour.

Thomas Baptiste "Tom" Morello (born May 30, 1964) is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club. He was featured as one of the guitarists in Rolling Stone's "The Top 20 New Guitarists" article and was ranked #26 on Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". He is also an outspoken political activist.

Equipment

Guitars

Morello uses heavily modified guitars from various manufacturers, but he has never had an official endorsement deal with any company.

Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is the lead guitarist and a songwriter in the band Metallica and has been a member of the band since 1983. Before joining Metallica he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003 Hammett was ranked 11th in Rolling Stone's list - The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Equipment

Guitars

Hammett, along with rhythm guitarist James Hetfield, have been major endorsers of ESP Guitars since the 1980s. Hammett was only the second person to have a signature guitar with the company. He is best known for playing his signature model guitars, with EMG pickups and Ernie Ball strings.

In 2007, ESP Guitar Company announced the release of a 20th Anniversary Limited KH-20 Guitar to celebrate 20 years of relationship with Kirk Hammett (based upon the KH-2 guitar with some modification). Only 41 guitars were in production, with the price at $9,999.USD a piece.

In January 2009, ESP also announced the rare release of Hammett's famous "ouija" guitar, which was very limited and for 2009 only.

Hammett's love of horror movies is reflected in several of his guitars.

Kirk Hammett's current tour guitars:

• ESP M-II "Zorlac" - This was the starting line for the whole KH series.
• ESP M-II Standard - EMG and Seymour Duncan.
• ESP KH-2 "Skully" - Hammett's main touring guitar.
• ESP KH-2 M-II "Boris Karloff Mummy"
• ESP KH-2 M-II "Ouija" - This guitar contains 2 spelling errors.
• ESP KH-3 Eclipse - Pushead Spider graphic.
• ESP Flying V copy - Cherry Red with white pickguard and gold hardware.
• ESP Michael Schenker Flying V
• Gibson 1968 Les Paul Custom
• Gibson Les Paul Standard - Used on songs from St. Anger.
• Jackson Randy Rhoads Model RR1T - Custom-Made specifically for Hammett.
• Teuffel Birdfish - Designed and produced by German guitar designer/builder

• TC Electronics G-Major 2 effects processor
• Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
• Dunlop KH95 Kirk Hammett Signature Crybaby
• Ibanez Tube Screamer (Modded by Keeley)
• DigiTech Whammy WH-1
• Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler
• Line 6 MM4 Modulation Modeler
• Shure UR-4D Wireless Receiver
• GCX Audio Switcher
• Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro floorboard
• DBX 1074 Quad Gate
• MXR Eddie Van Halen Flanger
• MXR Bass Octave Deluxe
• DigiTech Space Station

• Ernie Ball "Power Slinky" strings (.11-.48)
• Jim Dunlop Dunlop Jazz III picks(green)
• Levy Custom Straps
• Peterson Strobe 420 Tuner
• Bridge position: EMG 81
• Neck position: Some Guitars EMG 81 Others EMG 60

Saul Hudson (born 23 July 1965), better known by his stage name Slash, is an English musician. Originally from Stoke-on-Trent, he moved to Los Angeles, California as a child, where he began his career in the music industry. Slash is arguably best-known as the former lead guitarist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he performed and recorded between 1985 and 1996. He later formed the eponymous Slash's Snakepit and co-founded Velvet Revolver with his former bandmates Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. His debut solo album, Slash & Friends, is due to be released in 2010. In August 2009, Time Magazine named him #2 on its list of the 10 Best Electric Guitar Players of All-Time.

Equipment

Guitars

Slash owns more than 100 guitars. The guitar he recorded Appetite For Destruction with was a hand made flame-top 1959 Les Paul replica with no pick guard and two Seymour Duncan pickups. His main live guitar is a 1987 Les Paul Standard with three piece top (Factory Second). It has a cracked neck in two places, but he has had it repaired and continues to use it. Most of Slash's electric guitars have Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro pickups which are low output pickups.

Gary Moore (born Robert William Gary Moore, 4 April 1952, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish guitarist and singer.
In a career dating back to the 1960s, Moore has played with artists including Thin Lizzy, BB King, Colosseum II, Greg Lake and the Blues-rock band Skid Row, as well as having a successful solo career. Among many cameo appearances over the years, he performed the lead guitar solo on "She's My Baby" from Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3.

Equipment used

Over the years Moore has used numerous guitars. These include – Peter Green's 1959 Gibson Les Paul Sunburst, and the 1950s Gibson Les Paul Junior. He has also used guitars from Charvel, Ibanez, Hamer, Jackson, Heritage, Paul Reed Smith and, as seen in the music video for "Out in the Fields", a SynthAxe. Amplification has generally come from Marshall, although Soldanos and Fender have also been used, as well as transistor-driven Dean Markley units (especially in the studio). He also has used numerous effects over the years. These include; Delay units such as the Roland Space Echo, 555, Overdrive/Booster units such as the BOSS DS-1, Ibanez Tubescreamer variants, Marshall, Bluesbreaker and Guv'nor pedals as well as wah-wah pedals such as the Vox Wah, Dunlop JH1. He appears nowadays to favour Gibson and Fender guitars, through Marshall amplifiers. His choices in effects have remained constant, using an Ibanez TS10 Classic Tubescreamer on many recordings/live shows.

Moore's contribution to music and blues in particular have been recognised in recent years by prestigious commercial endorsements. In 2004 to 2006 Moore was featured in full page advertisements for Marshall's range of reissued classic handwired amplifiers, including classic amplifiers from the 1960s and 1970s, such as the popularly named "Bluesbreaker combo" originally made famous by Eric Clapton. Moore was also recognised by Gibson Guitars in 2008 with a signature model, The Gary Moore Les Paul BFG, which is not a reproduction of an existing model, but a new model with a distinctive lemon sunburst maple cap, a neck as well as a body that is unbound, and a "Gary Moore" name plate engraved on the truss rod cover.

Eric Johnson (born August 17, 1954) is an American guitarist and recording artist from Austin, Texas. Best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, New Age, and country and western music into his recordings.

Guitar Player magazine calls Johnson "One of the most respected guitarists on the planet." Johnson composes and plays not just instrumental songs but also vocal pieces, and plays piano as well as guitar.

Widely recognized for his guitar skills, Johnson's stylistic diversity and technical proficiency have drawn praise from Carlos Santana, Eric Clapton, Allan Holdsworth, Larry Carlton, Steve Morse, Billy Gibbons, Johnny Winter, Jeff Baxter, Prince, B. B. King, Rusty Burns, Joe Satriani and the late Stevie Ray Vaughan. His critically-acclaimed, platinum selling 1990 recording Ah Via Musicom produced the single "Cliffs of Dover," for which Johnson won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.

Guitar and equipment

Eric Johnson is best known for playing stock Fender Stratocaster and Gibson ES-335 electric guitars through a triple amp setup that consists of Fender Amplifiers, Dumble Amplifiers, and Marshall amplification. The Dumble amp has not made an appearance on his live performances for sometime since and including his best known live DVD at the Austin City Limits. Eric uses effects pedals such as a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face, BK Butler Tube Driver, TC Electronic Stereo Chorus, Vox Cry Baby wah-wah, Electro-Harmonix Memory Man Delay, an MXR Digital Delay, a Line 6 Echo Pro Studio Modeler, and a Maestro Echoplex tape delay of which all are connected to multiple A/B boxes to create sounds and tones that are both clean and distorted; Although the majority of Eric's setup is predominantly vintage, he has recently started using more modern effects including a stereo chorus made by AnalogMan .

Eric Johnson occasionally substitutes his pedals for others, sometimes being spotted with a TubeWorks Tube Driver rather than a Butler one. He has also been seen using the Xotic AC Booster as well as a Boss DS-1 and a Smoky Signal Tubeless Overdrive.

Eric Johnson was also responsible for putting the Tube Driver pedal created by Brent Butler on the map which is an essential part of his guitar sound.

Johnson has also played other guitar brands such as Robin, Rickenbacker, and Jackson Charvel, which appears on the cover of the Ah Via Musicom album.

He has also been known to use series wired or 'coil tapped' Dimarzio HS-2's in the neck and bridge position of his stratocasters; although this setup is not hum-cancelling, it still cancels around 70% of the AC hum.

In 2001, Eric Johnson added a Custom Shop '59 Les Paul Reissue to his guitars of choice.

C. F. Martin & Company released a limited-edition signature Eric Johnson Signature MC-40 in 2003, built to his specifications. Johnson donated five percent of the profits from his signature Martin guitar to Jefferson Medical College as a tribute to his father who attended.

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation released an Eric Johnson Signature Fender Stratocaster in 2005 also built to his specifications. Johnson has also released other signature gear such as GHS Eric Johnson Nickel Rockers Electric Guitar Strings, DiMarzio DP211 Eric Johnson Signature Custom Pickups, and a Fullton-Webb amplifier. Jim Dunlop also has released an Eric Johnson signature Jazz III plectrum.

Johnson was also featured in a video for Line6 GuitarPort product.

In late 2006, Johnson switched from recording in analog format to digital format.

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation in early 2009 has released the Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster Rosewood model. This signature Fender Stratocaster guitar features the same specifications as the Eric Johnson Maple Neck Strat, except for the addition of a unusual 3-ply 8-hole white pickguard, hotter treble pickup and a bound rosewood laminate fingerboard with pearloid dot position markers (available in colors such as Dakota Red and other three exclusive colors Tropical Turquoise, Medium Palomino Metallic, and Lucerne Aqua Firemist).

Brian Harold May, CBE, (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. As a guitarist he uses his home built guitar, "Red Special", and has composed hits such as "Tie Your Mother Down", "We Will Rock You", "Who Wants to Live Forever", "Hammer to Fall", "Save Me", "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "I Want It All". Currently the Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, May lives in Surrey.
He was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for "services to the music industry".
May was ranked 39th in Rolling Stone magazine list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

As A Musician

Brian May has been referred to as a virtuoso guitarist by many publications. He has used a range of guitars, most often the "Red Special", which he designed when he was only 16 years old, It was built with wood from an 18th century fireplace. His comments on this instrument, from Queen In Their Own Words (ed. Mick St. Michael, Omnibus Press, 1992, p. 62) are:

I like a big neck – thick, flat and wide. I lacquered the fingerboard with Rustin's Plastic Coating. The tremolo is interesting in that the arm's made from an old bicycle saddle bag carrier, the knob at the end's off a knitting needle and the springs are valve springs from an old motorbike.

In addition to using his home-made guitar he prefers to use coins (especially a sixpence), instead of a more traditional plastic plectrum, on the basis that their rigidity gives him more control in playing. He is known to carry coins in his pockets specifically for this purpose.

May's early heroes were Cliff Richard and The Shadows, who he says were "the most metallic thing out at the time." Many years later he gained his opportunity to play on separate occasions with both Cliff Richard and Shadows lead guitarist Hank Marvin. He has collaborated with Cliff Richard on a re-recording of the Cliff Richard and The Shadows (then known as The Drifters) 1958 hit "Move It" on the Cliff Richard duets album Two's Company which was released on 6 November 2006. On Queen For An Hour 1989 Interview on BBC Radio 1 May listed Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton as his guitar heroes.

Equipment

Guitars

Most of May's guitar work was done on the Red Special. However, he has used a number of other electric guitars, including a Burns Double Six ("Long Away"), a Gibson Les Paul (as a backup during the early tours), a Gibson Flying V (spare during Hot Space tour), a Fender Telecaster (Crazy Little Thing Called Love), a Stratocaster copy in the "Play the Game" promo, an Ibanez JS (Nothing But Blue),a Greco BM90 (featured in the promo video of "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy", but was not actually used in the studio), a Tōkai Hummingbird Acoustic (on some recordings), a Parker Fly ("Mother Love") and a Jackson Randy Rhoads in the video for "Princes of the Universe".

Acoustic guitars

For acoustic guitars, he mostly used Ovation 12-Strings, Martins, a Godin Thinline A-12 for the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert performance of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and a Gibson Chet Atkins for nylon-string parts. He created the unique "buzzing" tone heard on "White Queen (As It Began)" and "Jealousy" by placing pieces of piano wire under the frets. His ukulele was Aloha. Pianos he recorded include Bösendorfers, although in concerts he relied on Freddie Mercury's Steinway. May used Yamaha DX7 synths for the opening sequence of "One Vision" and the backgrounds of "Who Wants to Live Forever", "Scandal" and "The Show Must Go On".

Amplifiers

May has used Vox AC-30 amplifiers almost exclusively since a meeting with his long time hero Rory Gallagher at a gig in London during the late 60s/early 70s.[citation needed] His choice is the model AC30TBX, the top-boost version with Blue Alnico speakers, and he runs the amp at full volume on the Normal channel. He also customizes his amps by removing the circuitry for the Brilliant and Vib-trem channels (leaving only the circuitry for the Normal), and this alters the tone slightly, with a gain addition of 6-7dB.[citation needed] He always used a 'treble booster' of some kind which, along with the AC-30, went a long way in helping to create many of his signature guitar tones. He used the Dallas Rangemaster for the first Queen albums, up to A Day at the Races. Then, effects guru Pete Cornish built for him the TB-83 (32dB of gain) that used for all the remaining Queen albums. He switched in 2000 to the Fryer's booster, which actually gives less boost than the TB-83.

Live, he uses banks of AC-30 amplifiers keeping some amps with only guitar and others with all effects such as delay, flanger and chorus. He has a rack of 14 AC30s, which are grouped as Normal, Chorus, Delay 1, Delay 2. On his pedal board, May has a custom switch unit made by Cornish and subsequently modified by Fryer that allows him to choose which amps are active. He uses a BOSS pedal from the 70s, the Chorus Ensemble CE-1, which you can hear in In The Lap of The Gods (Live at Wembley '86) or Hammer to Fall (slow version played live with P. Rodgers). Next in the chain, he uses a Foxx Foot Phaser (We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Keep Yourself Alive, etc), and two delay machines to play his trademark Brighton Rock solo.

Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE (born 30 March 1945) is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times. Often viewed by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Clapton was ranked fourth in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #53 on their list of the Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Guitar

Clapton's choice of electric guitars has been as notable as the man himself, and alongside Hank Marvin, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, Clapton exerted a crucial and widespread influence in popularising particular models of the electric guitar. With the Yardbirds, Clapton played a Fender Telecaster, a Fender Jazzmaster, a double-cutaway Gretsch 6120 and a 1964 Cherry-Red Gibson ES-335. He became exclusively a Gibson player for a period beginning in mid-1965, when he purchased a used Gibson Les Paul Sunburst Standard guitar from a local guitar store in London. Clapton commented on the slim profile of the neck, which would indicate it as a 1960 model.

In late 1969, Clapton made the switch to the Fender Stratocaster. "I had a lot of influences when I took up the Strat. First there was Buddy Holly, and Buddy Guy. Hank Marvin was the first well known person over here in England who was using one, but that wasn't really my kind of music. Steve Winwood had so much credibility, and when he started playing one, I thought, oh, if he can do it, I can do it." First was "Brownie" used during the recording of Eric Clapton which in 1974 became the backup to the most famous of all Clapton's guitars, "Blackie". In November 1970 Eric bought six Fender Stratocasters from the Sho-bud guitar shop in Nashville, Tennessee while on tour with the Dominos. He gave one each to George Harrison, Steve Winwood and Pete Townshend.

Edward Lodewijkz "Eddie" Van Halen (born January 26, 1955), is a Dutch-born American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Van Halen is widely known for his rapid guitar playing, tapping, and high frequency feedback. The All Music Guide has called him "undoubtedly one of the most influential, original, and talented rock guitarists of the 20th century."



Guitar Playing Technique

Tapping

The instrumental "Eruption" showcased a solo technique called tapping, utilizing both left and right hands on the guitar neck. Although Van Halen popularized tapping, he did not, despite popular belief, invent the tapping technique. The tapping technique in Blues and Rock was being picked up by various guitarists in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Steve Hackett from the group Genesis used a tapping technique as early as 1971 on the album Nursery Cryme. Duane Allman from the The Allman Brothers Band and Frank Zappa tapped with a pick in the early 1970s. Brian May of Queen also used the tapping technique, which he picked up in America in the early 1970s, on songs such as It's Late from the News Of The World album. From a Brian May Guitar Player Jan 1983 interview about tapping "I stole it from a guy who said that he stole it from Billy Gibbons in ZZ Top"

Tone

Eddie (a self described "tone chaser") achieved his distinctive tone, known as the "Brown sound", by using a Frankenstrat guitar, a stock 100-watt Marshall amp, a Variac (to lower the voltage of the amp to change the tone) and effects such as an Echoplex, an MXR Phase 90, an MXR Flanger and EQs. Van Halen constructed his Frankenstrat guitar using a Charvel factory 2nd body and neck, a vintage Gibson PAF humbucker pickup (sealed in paraffin wax to reduce microphonic feedback), a pre-CBS Fender tremolo bridge (later to be a Floyd Rose bridge) and a single volume control with a knob labeled "tone". Eddie has used a variety of pickups including Gibson PAF's, 1970s Mighty Mites, DiMarzios and Super 70s.

Tuning

Though rarely discussed, one of the most distinctive aspects of Van Halen's sound was Eddie's tuning of the guitar. Before Van Halen, most distorted, metal-oriented rock consciously avoided the use of the major third interval in guitar chords, creating instead the signature power chord of the genre. When run through a distorted amplifier, the rapid beating of the major third on a conventionally tuned guitar is distracting and somewhat dissonant.

Volume swells

Eddie used a volume technique in the instrumental "Cathedral". He hammered notes on the fretboard with one hand while rolling the volume knob with the other. This altered the attack and decay of the notes so they mimicked the sound of keyboards. This "volume swells" sound was originally popularized by 1970s progressive rock bands like Focus (Jan Akkerman), Yes and Rush (while Ritchie Blackmore performed this technique a lot live) but was usually performed with a volume pedal, at a slower pace. "Cathedral" also employs an electronic delay, with the delay set at 400 ms and the delayed note set at the same amplitude as the original note. Most of the composition's notes come from hammering on the notes of a major 5th string barre chord (ascending and then descending) and replicating this pattern up and down the neck of the guitar. The end result of this technique made the composition sound as if it is being played on a church/cathedral organ.

Guitars

Eddie Van Halen built his guitar (Black and White) by hand, using an imperfect body and a neck bought from Wayne Charvel's guitar shop. The body and neck were constructed by Lynn Ellsworth of Boogie Bodies guitars, whose parts were being sold by Wayne Charvel at the time. Eddie installed a humbucker in the bridge position essentially creating a Fat Strat.

In 1979, Eddie began to play a black, rear loaded Charvel with yellow stripes. This was later replicated by Charvel along with the black and white striped model and the red white and black model (EVH Art Series Guitars). He also used a stock unmodified Ibanez Destroyer on a lot of the tracks on Van Halens first album such as You Really Got Me and Runnin' With the Devil and a modified Ibanez Destroyer on some tracks on Van Halens second album and a borrowed unmodified Ibanez Destroyer on some tracks on the Women and Children First album.

In 1983, Eddie began to use a brand new Kramer guitar with artwork similar to its predecessor and with a hockey-stick or "banana" headstock, which came to be known as the "5150." This guitar was rear-loaded (no pick guard), had a Floyd Rose vibrato unit and a neck that was later electronically mapped in order for it to be copied on the later Music Man and Peavey signature models. This guitar was last used on the track "Judgment Day" on the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge album. Various versions of it can be seen in the music videos for "Panama", "Hot for Teacher", "When It's Love", "Feels So Good" and the concert video, Live Without a Net. The guitar itself was a variant of a Kramer Pacer, although not a model that was technically available at the time.

In the mid 1990s, Ernie Ball produced an EVH signature "Music Man" guitar, and Eddie used this on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and Balance albums. This guitar is still commercially available under the "Axis" name, and retains all of the original features of the Edward Van Halen model. Edward was allegedly upset that Ernie Ball could not produce enough of this guitar to meet demand, and subsequently moved his endorsement to the Peavey Electronics corporation.

Amplifiers

Eddie's main amplifier in the early years was a 100 watt Marshall amplifier that had a 12301 serial number, which dates it to the 1967-1968 transitional period at Marshall when the circuit of the 100 watt Marshall 1959 changed gradually from the "Bass" circuit to the "SuperLead" circuit. It has often been claimed that Eddie's main 100 watt Marshall amplifier may have been modified.

Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll. Although his success lasted only a year and a half before his death in an airplane crash, Holly is described by critic Bruce Eder as "the single most influential creative force in early rock and roll." His works and innovations inspired and influenced both his contemporaries and later musicians, notably The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan, and exerted a profound influence on popular music.

Holly was in the first group of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Holly #13 among "The Fifty Greatest Artists of All Time".

Style

Holly's music was sophisticated for its day, including the use of instruments considered novel for rock and roll, such as the celesta (heard on "Everyday"). Holly was an influential lead and rhythm guitarist, notably on songs such as "Peggy Sue" and "Not Fade Away". While Holly could pump out boy-loves-girl songs with the best of his contemporaries, other songs featured more sophisticated lyrics and more complex harmonies and melodies than had previously appeared in the genre.

Many of his songs feature a unique vocal "hiccup" technique, a glottal stop, to emphasize certain words in any given song, especially the rockers. Other singers (such as Elvis) have used a similar technique, though less obviously and consistently. Examples of this can be found at the start of the raucous "Rave On!": "Weh-eh-ell, the little things you say and do, make me want to be with you-ou..."; in "That'll Be the Day": "Well, you give me all your lovin' and your -turtle dovin'..."; and in "Peggy Sue": "I love you Peggy Sue - with a love so rare and tr-ue ...".

Death

Buddy was offered the Winter Dance Party by the GAC agency, a three-week tour across the Midwest opening on January 23, 1959, with other notable performers such as Dion and the Belmonts, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson. Holly, Valens, Richardson, and the pilot were killed en route to Moorhead, MN, when their small plane crashed soon after taking off from Clear Lake, Iowa on February 3, 1959. Don McLean referred to it as "The Day the Music Died" in his song "American Pie".

Monument

Downtown Lubbock has a "walk of fame" with plaques to various area artists such as Glenna Goodacre, Mac Davis, Maines Brothers Band, and Waylon Jennings, with a life-size statue of Buddy by sculptor Grant Speed (1980) playing his Fender guitar as its centerpiece. Downtown Lubbock also features Buddy Holly Avenue and the Buddy Holly Center, which is a museum dedicated to Texas art and music.

In 1988, Ken Paquette, a Wisconsin fan of the 1950s, erected a stainless steel monument at the site of the airplane crash, depicting a steel guitar and a set of three records bearing the names of each of the three performers. It is located on private farmland approximately five miles north of Clear Lake. He also created a similar stainless steel monument to the three musicians at the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay. That memorial was unveiled on July 17, 2003.