Last night was interesting.  The Guitar Guy saga is already sort of going stale at this point, but it's important for me to say that for the past three months, the flirtation going on there has been a collection of some of the sexiest, most intense moments I've ever experienced, and it's really tragic that 

• a.) he has a girlfriend 
  
• b.) he now knows that I know about her and
  
• c.) that I launched this blog after all the good stuff

Last night, it seemed like things were finally going to ramp back up to normal.  That's really all I can hope for now, is that things end on a good note, rather than the initial happy-ending I wanted that involved an empty box of Trojans and several variations of the verb "to worship."

So, when, at the beginning of the evening, he came to order food from me, and did it by walking at me until I was against a wall, and we stood nearly nose-to-nose, speaking about perfectly polite things, such as whether there would be bacon on the hamburgers, but with under-toned smiles that suggested so much more.

He asked me if he should pay right then, and I told him it was up to him, and then basically made the decision for him by taking his credit card.  I think, in retrospect, that he wanted to drag out the process so he'd have further excuses to come talk to me, but honestly, we should be beyond that point by now, and were before the Great Revelation.  

He said, "Just make sure you bring it back to me," and I responded, "I always do," with a bit of confusion.  He muttered something about having to chase me around for it, and I turned around, holding the card to my chest and said, "Would you?"

He flashed me a smile, and assured me, "you bet."

So, that all went off without a hitch, and I danced around the first band set of the evening, thrilled with the indication that things were going back to the way they were, and should be, all the while flashing (and receiving) sex eyes to the stage.

When one of the back-up singers ordered from me a little later, I hurried her order so I would have an excuse to see him, but when I got backstage to drop it off to her, he looked slightly dejected, and handed me my credit slip, letting me know that he was just on his way down to give it to me.  

I suppose there would've been more banter if he'd made it to the deserted side station rather than having to hand it to me in the well-lit green room, but, yeah, he doesn't need an excuse to come hit on me, and he should know that.

So, a bit irritated, I went to the bar to put in more orders, and was standing at the computer, with my back to the bar while he stood at the bar with his back to me, getting water from the no-nonsense Lead Bartender, a short, black woman with very little use for romantic ideals or people who move slowly or without efficiency.  

I didn't hear this, because I was pissed off and distracted, but apparently she handed him his water, pointed to me, and said, "You two back together yet?"

Now, that's enough to make me die by vaporization.  Who told her?  No one?  We're that obvious?  What?

But, apparently (and mercifully), his response was to be startled, then immediately slightly amused, and he responded, "Oh, no ... not quite yet."

If you'll allow me to bullet point again, this is awesome because

• a.) He didn't even attempt to pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about
• b.) he was amused, not horrified
• c.) he used the modifier "yet."  This is exactly the answer I would've given.

However, I spent the next several hours obsessively demanding more detail from the waitress that overheard the exchange and reported it to me.  I feared that this confrontation would freak him out and distance him more, etc. etc. etc.

True to form, the eye contact was slightly more restrained for the remainder of the night.  Not as bad as Tuesday's absurd "look, get caught, jump, stare and the ground for the next ten minutes" routine, but not to full scale by any means.

At the end of the night, when he was all packed up and ready to go, I dawdled around so I could say goodbye.  He tried to disregard me, so I stood and waited for him to turn and acknowledge me, and I said, "are you taking off?"

A bit stupidly, he joked, "Taking of my clothes?" and I said, "What right here?" 

He laughed and said, "A little later on.  It's a private show."  

"Oh," I said, cracking a smile.  "Is that an invitation?"

Which clearly startled him (two points for me), and he started muttering some nonsense about getting paid off by a table, which I asked if it was one of mine, and then upon confirmation said that it usually is.

Out of mercy, I cut him off before he could ramble any more ridiculousness, and asked him if he were taking off for the weekend, which is what I originally meant.  He said no, that he'd be there on Saturday, and I said,

"Good.  I only ask because I'm leaving in two weeks."

"I know," he said, "It's sad."  and I shrugged, wanting to let him know that it doesn't necessarily have to be.

"Well, if I don't see you -," I said, and hugged him.  It was important for me to get a hug in there, as we used to hug constantly and inappropriately before the Great Revelation, but hadn't since.  So, this was the first one.

He told me he was going to stick around and have a drink.  So, I wrapped up quickly and hung out downstairs while he drank and talked to EVERYONE IN THE ROOM BUT ME.

This marginally irritated me until he mentioned to my roommate (who is a Libra, and it was relevant to the conversation) that both of his parents are Libras, and then while she was responding, muttered under his breath, "As is my current girlfriend."

At this point, I snapped, "Okay, time to go," and grabbed my bag, grabbed my roommate, and swung out of the club.  I hope he feels like a dunce about it.  It's really unfortunate every time I realize just how human he is and just how nervous I make him.  

It's hotter to feel like there's this supernaturally sexy guitar player who wants me, and that's the most complicated thing about it.

Jenna and I got home, and then drank wine and talked about other lost opportunities to Gwags, that have always ended in too-little-too-late scenarios on their parts, where years later they confess to wanting us so badly then but how they tried to "do the right thing," blah blah blah.  

I'm still kind of dejected about the whole thing, but at least, since it's the Other Guitarist tonight, I'll be able to focus on making money and not obsessing over making out.

Zero Youth Records Showcase w/ Brutally Frank, K.T.P., 7 Shot Screamers, Queen City Saints @ Outland Ballroom

Protomen, Future Pilot, Spidermums @ Outland

Jason Ricci @ Nathan P. Murphy's, featuring guitarist Shawn Starski, listed in Guitar Player as one of the "Top 10 Hottest New Guitarists." But if you'd like to form your own opinion (which we hope you do), here's a guitar solo we found on The YouTubes. Enjoy!

1. A musician's album covers and/or website frontpage regularly consists of the artist's headshot, and

2. Said headshot involves leaning against something (preferably a piano), tilting his/her head slightly and smiling,

Then this is not a musician to drive 30+ minutes to see perform at a convention center.

What? You got a better idea, DeRosh? Yeah, actually. But you gotta click to find out what.

See, one of Guitar Player Magazine's "Ten Hottest New Guitarists" is playing the same night at Nathan P. Murphy's--Shawn Starski, guitarist for Jason Ricci & New Blood. The article appeared in the mag's June 2008 issue, but you can see for yourself Friday night. Can The Tesh shred like that?! We think not!

After almost a year of running an ad for a bass player answered by several complete nuts, or promising creative talents (who can tell?) nothing came of it. I cancelled it last week. After putting bulletins up on MySpace, networking around and posting on other musician forums, I came to one conclusion. Of the people I talked to, only one was a female acoustic guitar player. The rest were men. And I realized slowly that no one was taking me seriously, not as far as music was concerned.

One who decided that not only would it be great to jam together "sometime", but for me to take control of his awkward virginity and teach him everything I knew. There were a couple whose long-haired metal appearance threw me off, and surprise! they wanted me to play ska or metal. One has piercings, a snake and asked me if I could see myself fucking him the second time we talked. And he'd love to play... as soon as he got his guitar fixed.

The only real paying gig I got a shot at was playing country music, and the more I listened to Brooks and Dunn, the closer I came to backing out, which is what I did. This followed up by three weeks of talking to a guy I really liked, only to find that he wanted me to come to his place (where my studio is NOT) and he needed a designated driver to go out... so needless to say we never actually got around to playing music.

I wish I could convince my old guitar player Corey to come back, but I'm afraid the musical chemistry was more between him and my husband... whose absence is felt the most when I look at the building where we used to make so much great noise, our instruments turned up to 11, everyone thrashing around in their own little worlds, only to come together at some predetermined moment and look at each other, knowing that nowhere was anyone rocking or rolling as hard or as well as we were at that moment.

I miss my former bass player Bobby. I have a lot of guesses as to why he wandered away from us, but no real reasons. And that hurts sometimes. Fellow musicians become like family. It is an experience shared that bonds you.

And I feel like I won't find anyone that understands that. Who wants to play the same music I do. Who takes me seriously as a singer and drummer. Not see me as a chic who might go out with them, and oh yeah, she plays music. It is really sad that I actually thought about selling my drums today or giving them to my husband, because they are technically half his. I just felt like I wouldn't ever go back down to the studio, run in while the band was already playing, take my place and jump in.

There is just silence now.

Well...what to say, what--to--say...

This is my first attempt at a blog, I've never found a real reason to WRITE one before, EVER; and I'm still not sure I've found one.

I'm bored -- that, and only that, is the only reason I'm writing this...so, I'll share some thoughts.

Recently, I have been playing Guitar Hero III...now, being a guitar player for 6 years, I obviously have a different angle on a game like this.

Not only am I a guitar player, It is my life passion, and pretty much the only reason I don't <insert anecdote'ish description of suicide here>.

I started the game on the Medium difficulty, since I always start every game at Normal (Medium, Middle, you get the point) difficulty(s).

The learning curve of the game is not too steep unless you're either blind or deaf; respectively...but when I finished the game on Hard mode, I decided to play it on Expert...excuse ME for trying to naturally evolve in the world of guitar hero, guitar hero.

1st Tier was O.K, 2nd...Still O.K...up to 6th it was great...then comes a song like One, where, during the solo, you have to do this; and I'll try to describe using words: "Blakjdlakelnrjafjknkjnjkfaefjaefkjebnfljkanejfnbaekjfnakjfbeakjfbakefbkaejfnkajefnkajnfkajenfkjebjeakeanfkaejfnkeajbehbkaejfbakjebfkajebfa"

Does that make any sense? No. That's right, it doesn't. So...you have to go and practice, and practice and practice xy. (as in x amount of y as in in y = infinite.)

I tried though...believe me, I did. But this annoying feeling of screwing up a song gets OLD, FAST...not to mention the eventual total acid trip from the very suspicious moving fretboard on the background of a moving CAMERA...brainwashing anybody?

In conclusion, I'd always prefer playing something like Cliffs of Dover on a real guitar than a plastic controller, however addictive and kinda sickly fun it is.

Plus, I usually don't think about this, about 80% of guitar players in the world can't even play the intro to Cliffs of Dover, so -- Have your virtual satisfaction...damn you...

Peace, and Happiness.

http://www.electric-guitar-review.com/

First blog I found when I started seeing that they were valuable. Good reviews, short and to the point. He's doing a project which I'm totally digging reading about. And with what i've been reading in his blog over the past, it's a sign that guitar bloggers have a very good, supportive community. We're not competitive, we don't bicker or argue, we just like the stuff, and we like to talk about it.

http://elephant-blog.blogspot.com/

Adrian Belew's blog. Adrian Belew has played guitar for some of the most progressive acts in history, and on some remarkable albums. King Crimson, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Paul Simon, to name a few. I've seen him live 3 times with his Adrian Belew solo band, and every time it's been my absolute favorite. He posts thoughts, artwork and songs. Well, he used to. But there are some GREAT hollywood-music style stories in there.

http://www.musicgadgets.net/

Press releases and a constant flow of good music industry news. Good to read for those who like to stay up to date.

http://igblog.wordpress.com/

Writes often, and writes well. Posts good videos and is a good discussion starter with a humorous side. Nice guy, too.

http://www.guitarjamdaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=0&Itemid=53

Probably the most polished of all of them. Sadly, you have to sign up to read more and click links. But when they posted a blog about Godin, I had to sign up to read the rest. I don't regret it.

http://www.guitarnoize.com/

If you're reading this now, check out the June 26th 2008 post of the Malt Whisky guitar. Guitar Noize finds GREAT stuff, obscure and otherwise.

http://stratoblogster.blogspot.com/

All things strat. Odd strats and mods, and just all the things one ever wanted to know about the strat and what's happening with it.

http://guitarz.blogspot.com/

Probably the best at finding the weirdest guitars ever made. Seems that the United Kingdom has the craziest guitars on ebay, and luckily Guitarz finds them all and we get to see. Not to mention one of the few who documented the London Guitar Show of 2008.

http://www.crimsonguitars.com/diary.html

This is the one I look forward to reading the most. LOTS of great pictures, he makes awesome guitars, posts his animals, and posts great captions below everyone. Hand made guitars, amazing woods, and everything amazing that you'd imagine from a guy making amazing guitars in a shed in the UK.

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/

I need my fix of technology, and Wired posts a LOT. All the time, new energy sources, gear, phones, computers, and gadgets of all sorts.

http://blog.makezine.com/

For the DIYer in all of us. Quirky, unique objects, faires, and devices. Great read.

http://news.cnet.com/matter-antimatter/

Written by a product designer/marketing guy for a big design firm in San Francisco. It's extremely well written, and there's a lot of stuff which applies to the guitar industry. Also some tech and weird stuff too.

http://www.guitarguru.typepad.com/

This one is a great one. Written by Guitar Designer, someone I aspire to be. Doesn't hurt that he's Jol Dantzig, the guy for Hamer. He also got most of us loyal readers a subscription to my new favorite magazine, Premier Guitar. Great documentation of some insane products that some of us only wish we had the resources to create. It's a big "Holy smokes" type of blog.

http://buildingtheergonomicguitar.com/

For sheer interesting factor, this one takes the cake. Reading about advancing guitars instead of letting it stagnate in the realm of strats and les pauls is a fascinating read. On the blog, they talk about designing their own bridges and bend the perception of what's possible in guitars.

http://blackbirdguitars.blogspot.com

Seems i'm not the only frightfully opinionated blogger on the internet, but the great thing is that it's from the perspective of an upstart company. I was forwarded this blog by an owner of one of their guitars, and from the little written, it seems like there's an interesting future ahead...

http://www.brawerguitarrepair.blogspot.com/

For quirkiness, my favorite. San Francisco guitar repair guru Gary Brawer has a shop, and one of his guys posts short, funny blurbs on what happens in one of the busiest (and smallest...wow) guitar repair shops on the planet. Great pictures too because you can see he's dealing with some high profile people...

http://musicthing.blogspot.com/

All things music and weird. Just found out about this one, and i'm liking it a lot.

And there you have it. My favorites. Drop a comment and recommend some, and i'll start adding more and updating this list. But those are the ones I see multiple times a day in my browser window, so I thought i'd share, though I bet the people who see this already know about most, if not all of them.

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How long will that last? I wanted to get a job at Guitar Center because I was pretty sure that I knew more about guitar stuff than most of the people on the floor, and therefore I felt I would do a good job informing people and selling guitars, earning a good commission by developing a dialogue with them. Incentive being that I could take the price down and get them coming back. Without commission, it wouldn't matter at all if the person knew anything about guitars, a wage job is a wage job.

It's like most big name stores without commission; salespeople don't go around asking people if they want anything, they just sit at the register waiting to check someone out. There's no incentive or reason for them to ask, so they just sit around waiting. Deals and commission were all about incentive. Incentive to work at Guitar Center, incentive to sell, incentive to buy, incentive to get a deal.

Now Guitar Center can't have the whole friendly vibe, or at least there's no point to it. I went in to the store that day looking for the guy I knew, and he knew me.  He would give me good deals on things and I wouldn't waste his time with other people, i'd ask for what I wanted and pay. Instead, if I go I can just buy whatever from whoever and know i'm paying full price, and the salespeople no longer matter. People with knowledge won't matter, they'll just show it on the computer if someone asks for information.

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That was the thing, it was the only reason I went to Guitar Center. By creating a haggling atmosphere, it was an entirely different entity and it was the reason I didn't go to mom and pops. If I have the option now of paying full price at Guitar Center or at a small store, i'm going to the small store. I feel my money is going to better use, i've had a better experience, and i'm making sure they'll be there by supporting their livelihood. Before this new price set thing was in action, I would care if Guitar Center left. Now not so much. Unlike technology stores and emporium stores, there's still a grassroots guitar store movement out there, and if Guitar Center is just another one of the options, i'll let them go.

I was willing to buy more things overall because I knew I would get good prices on things I wanted, and by talking to people for hours who gave me a deal, i'd always come back and give them my business. Unlike a Car Dealership, you don't just go to Guitar Center once. Most people have more than one guitar, amp, pedal, and accessories. If I know your name, and I know you treat me well and give me good prices, i'll just keep talking to you and probably buy things I don't need, but get them just because it's a good price. Same reason I went in there in the first place. Obviously this doesn't apply to everyone. Tourists, beginners, rich people with money to burn.

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Guitars are a store driven market, and Guitar Center was the only big chain out there. I feel no loyalty to a Best Buy or a grocery store because those are things I need. More people need and buy cell phones, cameras, TVs, computers, and food than they ever buy guitars. It's why Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, SHARP, and so forth are household names and brands, while i'd give a guess and say that if you asked someone to name a guitar company, you'd be lucky with a "Fender", "Martin" or "Gibson."

They don't offer haggling because they don't have to. Guitar Center is purely luxury items for a specific market, and in order to captivate an outside, seemingly uninterested market, there needs to be some (back to square one) incentive that will cross the mental barrier of them wanting to spend money. Guitar Center is all over America, but the consistency was that we could get good deals at all of the stores if there were good people there. And the salespeople were unique instead of just a clan of blue-wearing khaki pants robots. As I said, people wanted to work there, and Guitar Center knew it. It has/had an extremely high employee turnover rate because GC knew if someone wasn't performing, they could get another worker in quick.

So here's an open question to employees and readers alike:

What sets Guitar Center above anyone else now?

Give your comments and thoughts.

A  revista online Guitar Player merecia receber uma multa - e pesada. Ou o boicote do Brasil inteiro. Num artigo recente, os americanos escreveram, veja só, que Antonio Carlos Jobim, glória nacional, é argentino e Baden Powell, o grande violonista, cubano!

Acredite!

O texto diz assim: "Costa’s musical heroes include Django Reinhardt, Cuba’s Baden Powell, and Argentine tango icon Astor Piazzolla, as well as Antonio Carlos Jobim and Lucio Yanel, both Argentines who made their careers in Brazil (sic)".

"Os heróis musicais de Costa, incluem Django Reihnardt, Baden Powell de Cuba, e o ícone do tango argentino Astor Piazzolla, assim como Antonio Carlos Jobim e Lucio Yanel, ambos argentinos que fizeram sua carreira no Brasil..."

Francamente!

The Specs: 21 Medium Jumbo frets on a Maple or a Rosewood board. Most people get maple, and I would too. If you're going to buy something called a Strat, you might as well keep it a strat with a maple board. The Body is made out of Alder, a tonewood that many companies are using for their lower end guitars or guitars they know will not have a transparent finish. Fender uses alder on their American strats too, but I have a feeling that they come from better stock. I'm making an assumption, so it could be completely false. Alder isn't exactly the prettiest of woods, but it's similar to higher ones so they might as well use it if they got it. I have no idea about the state of Alder trees, so if you're interested in that, go do some research and send it my way too. Satin poly finish on the neck, so it'll last awhile. Vintage trem, 3 single coils. I'm trying to limit myself here considering there isn't much about the strat people don't know. I'm trying to point out the minor differences between one of these and the expensive ones. A few of the obvious ones are the size of the fretwire, the truss rod access being in the headstock, and the type of Alder.

The Neck: When I pick up a guitar, this is the first thing I go for. I wrap my left hand around the neck and feel the profile. This is a modern C, which means it's a nice C shaped curve which is thinner. Reading Dan Erlewine's book explaining the differences in neck profiles was a very informative thing. Through the 80's and 90's necks got REALLY thin, and even the standard Strat got pulled into the trend. I've heard thin necks promote fatigue, but the Fender modern C shape isn't that thin, so it still fills the hand. As I said, poly satin finish so that will stay on for a good amount of time. On the other hand, it probably hinders the resonance of the guitar in comparison to a thin coat of Nitrocellulose. Then again, I could just be falling into the tribe of purists who claim Nitro is a better finish.  Judge for yourself, I think satin feels great play wise, but there is a certain feeling you get on a tinted poly finish.

The Body: The Alder thing is an interesting subject. Most of Fender's guitars are made out of Alder with a few exceptions. They make special strats out of Ash, a wood near and dear to my heart, having spent time working with it. It's a spectacular looking wood, and is a lighter colored, but more dense version of mahogany. Looks great with maple. Anyway, Alder is just another tonewood which people will try to describe with words like "poppy" or "warm" when in reality it doesn't matter for the MIM strat. The polyurethane finish is so thick and there's probably filler in some bad spots on the guitar, so the resonating properties one could associate with a thin finished Alder body are probably hindered by all of the coating. Personally, I can't hear it, but i'm drawing conclusions from what I read and assume. It looks like a strat, and that's probably why you bought one or are reading this. It's made on a machine, every one of them is cut identically, but has different wood stocks. Minute differences which most people who would buy a MIM strat wouldn't notice.

Electronics: If every strat guitar used the same electronics as the Eric Johnson signature strat, this would be a different paragraph and a different toned article. But since they use what they use, it's merely a situation of "It sounds fine" and move on. 3 Single coils, volume and 2 tone knobs. I still dislike the wiring of the tone, to the middle and neck. I use middle pickups so infrequently, I would just rather have it wired to the bridge. I was going to say have a master tone knob, but once you find the joys of different tone settings, you never want to return. Maybe they treble change when doing a switch from Bridge to Mid to Neck is so annoying they'd rather keep it gradual? I don't know why. Actually, come to think of it, a tone knob for the neck and mid, and one just for the bridge would be better. Or one for Mid and Bridge, and one for the neck. I've heard a lot of players modding their tone to just Neck and Bridge, so it's something to think about when you want an easy modification for different sounds.

Hardware: The tuners are decent tuners. They work pretty well. I would like the ones with a center post just because they look coolers and have better string locking ability, but they are probably a little complicated for changing strings if you're just a casual player.  The current tuners however, are standard ones which are easy to tune with. The output jack is fine, but there needs to be a standard solution for those things loosening and weakening. It's a 5 dollar solution, and i'd pay that much to never have to open up that cavity for any reason. The bridge, same deal. There needs to be some type of thread locking mechanism. Small set screws so the height of the saddles doesn't change over time. A bigger sustain block on the bridge would be nice too. Just a little extra sustain isn't too much to ask for?

The Whole She-bang: You're spending 400 dollars on a guitar which is outsourced for labor purposes. You're going to get what you pay for. It will play, it will sound like a strat, and you'll tell people you have a Fender strat. It's true, you have one. But the guitar as an entity runs on pedigree, not on quality. You're getting the name, the look and the label, not the playability. The frets and nut are created for all of the guitars, not just yours, so variation is common. The neck pocket is done on a machine, but it doesn't account for the thickness that the painter applies finish or color, so the pocket isn't really exact. It's good, but it's not amazing. The neck will shift in that pocket with the right force. The action is going to be alright, but you'll never get it as low as you really want it. Playing a guitar which can have mind bogglingly low action is something few guitarists experience. That book I referenced before, he sets his high E string to be .009 inches off of the first fret. That's ALMOST enough room to fit another high E under that. You could blow on that string and the note would go sharp. You won't find that on the strat. Everything will be fine. It's something that will work. The Fender MIM strat is like the Ikea furniture of guitars. You get it because it looks good and works, but it's never going to be monetarily worth more than what you bought it for unless you become the next Stevie Ray Vaughn or it's signed by a celebrity. We live in a mass production world, and there are a LOT of MIM strats out there. They are gifts, beginner guitars, backups, projects, parts, and played until the strings dissolve.

Also, from a perspective of upgrades, it's THE guitar. It's the standard, and there are more parts for it than any other guitar. Broken neck? Get a new one. Want to replace the pickups? Do it. Some guitars out there, you're stuck with what you got unless you do some major repairs. Every single part on the strat has ten to hundreds of options for replacement. Warmoth, Allparts, Dimarzio, Seymour Duncan, Planet Waves, Schaller. All companies that make new parts for the guitar you want to upgrade. Also, it's the guitar that repair people have the most experience with, so chances are if you want a fret recrown, the repair guy is going to be able to do it quickly, cheaply, and well.

Thinking about it, the Fender Standard Made in Mexico strat is not a great guitar. Looking at it from a workmans perspective, it's fine. The ones on the shelf are fine guitars, and even sitting on the shelves I'm not a big fan. But for something to work on, it's amazing. I'm thinking about getting one just to Frankenstein it. And looking at it for what it symbolizes, it's absolute perfection. It's what gets people to start playing guitar. Priced just low enough to tempt people, and named perfectly so people will want one. Someone will as, "What kind of Guitar do you have?" "A Fender strat", they say. It's a guitar people want and are proud to talk about. And for that, it's perfect.

Never played guitar? Buy one. Screw the value and the depreciation, it's your first guitar, and it's a Fender Strat.

Have a bunch of expensive guitars? Buy one. Tear it to bits, learn about guitar, mod it, paint it, crank it.

I usually grade guitars on the guitar itself, but you can't do it to this. Someday, I'll rate an American strat like every other one i've reviewed, but this one is special and I don't even own one.

The Pros: It's a Fender strat. It's just fine. It'll work and play.

The Cons: That it's just fine. Machinery is so fast and advanced now that even the lowest models of companies should be able to play as good or better than the cheap guitars of yesteryear.

The Grade:

Enjoy the guitar:

This is on Pennysylvania's fall in pa website: http://www.fallinpa.com/fallinpa/index.jsp

	Submitted By: Ken Bernardo Date Taken: 10/10/01 Location: Knoxdale, PA Description: Fall By The Creek

'

This is I call "Lone Tree" Taken Fall 2007 in Valley Forge National Park

ken bernardo ©2008

 here's another ken bernardo photo on Fall In Pennsylvania's Website

	Submitted By: Ken Bernardo Date Taken: 10/26/01 Location: Knoxdale, PA Description: Fall road in western PA
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So what does this have to do with punk rock, you ask? When Mike and I first met in Houston many, many years ago, he was in a punk rock band, the Nervebreakers. I laughed when he told me. He didn't look like any punk rockers I had ever seen. He looked normal. I went to a club and experienced the Nervebreakers for myself. Punk rock, baby. He still looked normal to me, but the rest of the band....

The Nervebreakers released records, toured and had quite the reputation here in Texas. They even had the opening act gigs for big time rock "stars" including The Police, Ramones, Clash and The Sex Pistols. This was the seventies, mind you. Things were different then. Music came on vinyl and there were lots of radio stations that weren't owned by Clear Channel.

The other day he decided to join me in Flickr fun and upload the pictures from his punk rock days and earlier. The local free paper has already noticed and posted about Mike's pictures Friday. The writer called it "Haskins' recently uploaded memories". You may view them as well, just click here. Enjoy.

These are my thoughts after going to NAMM. It's been 3 months, and it's taken about that much time for my euphoria to wear off, and ideas to settle in, or at least have some effect on me. So lets get going.

Going to NAMM was a life changing experience for me. It really was. Being someone who wants to spend their life involved in musical instruments and music, experiencing something like NAMM was valuable and necessary. And while the experience NAMM gave me was inevitable, i'm glad it happened early in my life. Rather than dancing around it with pseudoartistic jabber, I might as well just come out and say it:

Music is a business.

You hear those words spoken - "Music Business" is household fodder for future (un)employees - but it took a very large event for it to set in.

My pre-namm experience was involved in blogs and magazines, seeing all the new gear surrounded by musical A-listers and scantily clad women who wouldn't know a Fender from a Gibson if the booths were right next to each other. And if you'll excuse the self-righteous NAMM booth humor (something I'll try to avoid it from now on) you'll get a slight glimpse at what I mean by "business." All I knew about NAMM were in journalist pictures and magazines, but they don't show you who is really there, and why it's really there.

I'm going to guess that 99% of the people there are just lookers, gawkers, rubberneckers and the like, enjoying the new eye candy of musical instruments that are being created. And out of a tens of thousands of people that go to NAMM, those (we, actually) aren't the people that matter much. We are dressed in musical oriented clothes, walking shoes, and our wallets don't have much in mind except for the food.

And then you see the people and sights they never show you in the magazines. The suits, ties, briefcases, back rooms, two-story booths, soundproof rooms, velvet ropes, business schedules, meetings, power lunches, special areas, the entire hotel 1st floor bought by Yamaha, the Roundtables with the candy dish in the middle, the paperwork, and the nicely combed hair. Guitar World/Player/One would never show you that. Well, why would they? It's not like it would sell issues (Re: Business).

You start to realize that the stores that sell a lot of guitars are not guitar meritocracies. The best guitars aren't sold at Guitar Center, Samash, Musicians Friend or Music123. They are merely (I should say "probably, because this is all hearsay now) there for their name, and the amount of money they bring in. For instance, a Fender Relic, now the basis for all things overpriced in the guitar industry, costs a few thousand dollars to sell. Chances are, that guitar cost the exact same to make as the Made In Mexico 70's reissues, and even they are overpriced.

So the manufacturers sell them wholesale to one of these big musical instrument selling companies for a low price, and then the company sells them to us for a higher price. I'm going to make an educated guess and assume the reason all of those guitars are at the big-name stores, is solely because they bring in the most money. Thus reducing your guitar buying options at the big stores to profit margins, rather than quality. Gibson, Fender, PRS, ESP, are only known brands because the people buy them, and the retailers get a good deal. You'd probably never see a Suhr or a Vigier at a big namer because they probably couldn't turn a good profit.

I think what solidified my ideas that it's a business was being in the ESP booth. It was all rock-and-rolled, videos playing, cool guitars on the wall. Then I standing in a certain place, and a door opened. Out of the door came around 8 men in business suits, shaking hands and smiling. Not a single one looked like a guitar player, or even a guitar player in disguise. I am in the room which is a large upstairs conference room, dressed to the nines in the finest in metal regalia, and there went what looked to be wall street's finest. They probably just sold a couple thousand guitars in futures, or made a deal with an overseas manufacturing company to lower the manufacturing costs of parts fifteen percent.

That's when it dawned on me to look at everything there in a different light. All of the manufacturers of cheap guitars probably couldn't play one if handed to them. They were there for a profit, and turning plywood, lumber scraps, and cheap mass produced parts into money was why they were there.

You go to a hardware store, and there are rows and rows and rows of screws, big and small, costing a couple cents. Metal door brackets and hinges, a few dollars. Plastic knobs and plates for switches, a dollar or two. Lumberyard's full of wood, a couple bucks for large pieces. All of these mass produced parts parallel to guitars. Tuners, bridges, knobs, switches, plates, and all of the simple things don't add up to the cost of a Squier strat, especially when they are being mass produced. Necks, bodies, pickups, and everything but painting and assembly are automated, but we are still paying big bucks. It's what we expect, as guitar players.

Want something with a clear finish? Extra 70 bucks. Gold plated hardware? 50 bucks. Floating bridge? 200 bucks. Hollowbody? Upper range. Thin nitro finish? Upper range. Locking tuners? Extra 100 bucks. New pickups? 70 bucks. You all know this, and you've come to expect this.

But knowing the details is not very rock and roll. This hobby of mine was born and raised in the ear canals of rock and roll Venice, and I didn't want it to be sold to the lowest bidder. I didn't want to know that the reason Guitar Center had my Gibson SG was because they probably made a huge deal of money off of it. I didn't want to know that my gear heaven known as NAMM, is really just for big businesses to make deals. I didn't want to see the Chinese manufacturers sitting at a table, waiting for one of the big companies to come to them so they could make the most profit.

You try and justify the price you pay that there's some guy working in a factory on your guitar. That the measly 400 dollars you spend on a Mexican Strat is worth it. Then you realize that there are a good amount of people who specialize in that part, and they spend the better part of 5 minutes on it. Bolting on a neck, clamping the sides, installing tuners, drilling holes, removing things from giant machines. They get paid wage a few bucks above minimum, if not minimum. Aside from the paint and finish drying, it probably spends very little time in someone's hands. Probably a good 15 dollars out of the company's pocket worth of labor, and that's pushing it. 20 bucks total for the parts, pushing it again. Manufacturing has been paid off, so probably a dollar or two for maintenance of the machines. We're talking anywhere from 8 to 30 times the profit for something people yearn for.

The problem is there's no competition. I'm beating the dead horse of my ill-fated "Why I Hate Guitar Center" post, but unlike the computer industry all prices just keep going up for us while quality drops.

I saw NAMM. I saw the celebrities paid to be there. I saw the small companies trying to break into the market. I saw the new gear, the booth babes, the lights, the smells. I got the blisters from walking, I saw Johnny Demarco (!!!), I saw the elaborate booths. And I realized that none of it was for me. Any guitar player would be happy with a booth full of guitars, and had the bar not been set so high, i'm sure that's what NAMM would've been like. Instead it was the largest building i'd ever been to, enormous booths, louder than hell, and it was an overload.

But what does it all mean? Will it change a thing that I know this? Nope. I'm still going to go to Guitar Center, i'm going to pay 1700 dollars for the Eric Johnson Strat (someday...) which cost probably under a hundred to make. I'm going to keep on truckin through the business part of it. Pay a dollar for a song, 2 for a ringtone,
50 for a doorknob or whatever I buy, and continue to realize that music is a business. But so is everything else, so I should shut my mouth because some day i'm going to be in this business, and you're going to pay for my Eric Johnson strat.

The end.

I await loads of criticism, both foreign and domestic. Including the job offers from Fender and Gibson for a billion dollar a year contract for me to sit around in the Charvel office or the Gibson Supreme office being the guy who criticizes everything, but still enjoys it all.

Me and music, we have a love/hate relationship. I love all of this stuff, but I hate seeing people in suits.

Shit is inspiring.

via NO ID vs Traxster blog.

1) In regards to two posts ago in pedalboards. There is more guitar talk to come, but first! I would encourage all the guitar players out there to read the most recent issue of guitar player magazine. The cover deemed itself "the ultimate guide to pedalboards". There is some really good stuff in there, I really do hope some people read it.

(sorry the picture is backwards)

2) I really like this song in the video below, check it out. It makes me cry and want to get up and dance at the same time (this is why I want to know how to dance!) Check it out.

This second video is the guy who wrote it and the story behind it.

peace,

-A

[wpvideo FghWufkk w=400]

Over the last few months, I have been desiring a 3 pickup strat-style guitar. If I had my druthers, i'd be caressing an Eric Johnson Signature strat right now, but since my credit limit is not a giant infinity symbol, i'll have to make do.

Oddly enough, in my entire time playing guitar, i've never owned an SSS guitar. My first electric guitar was basically a yamaha fat strat (bought from a Compusa after begging. Hey, it came with an amp and a strap! Woo!) and all electrics since then with the exception of my MIM telecaster, have been humbuckered. Ibanez, Dean, Gibson, Jackson, Yamaha; all having humbuckers in the bridge. I don't really get to take advantage of the single coils, and coil splitting just doesn't cut the mustard. Nothing sounds like that standard strat sound.

So, i've come to a crossroads, and i'm down on my knees (Had to do it...) begging the guitar deities to answer my questions intelligently, without the usual territory that comes with the guitar i'm debating on buying. It's a Squier affinity strat. The one with the 60's fat headstock, sunburst finish and a **GASP!** Alder body. Hell, Alder is better than cheap crappy basswood, or worse...MDF.

Here's my rationale so far:

It's a Fender. I'm willing to bet that the machine that cuts the bodies out of what is most likely the cheapest, B-stock Alder, uses the exact same programming as custom shops. The CNC machines Fender uses in USA to cut their monstrously overpriced models, is probably programmed identically to the ones in China, blasting out 2 bazillion squiers a day. A small exception may be the bridge pocket on the front, but i'll check that out if I go through with this insanity. And same goes for the necks. It's probably the same maple neck from the 70's reissue, minus the tinted nitro finish.

Granted, it's not the Squier Japan that used to be a good name, but it's made under Fender which means Fender parts will fit in just fine. Something goes wrong? I'll get parts meant for a Fender, and things will be fine.

The problems it has are probably easily fixable. I've watched videos of Dan Erlewine do a full setup on a cheapo guitar, and make it legit. I believe it was a cheap Epiphone dot, but I could be mistaken. Fret leveling, nut shaping, saddle cleaning. All of a decent days guitar work to turn a 150 dollar guitar, into something perfectly reasonable.

A 150 dollar strat facsimile with Medium Jumbo frets, no less. Even better!

Not only that, but it's the attachment to it. A few dings and scratches on a Squier affinity with some Dimarzio Velvets or Duncan Customs in it won't hurt me like it would to hear the zipper on my jacket within 5 inches of an Eric Johnson signature, or my oft considered ESP strat,  Suhr classic or Vigier excalibur. **Faint**

I am considering this guitar as something I don't feel bad customizing. New pickups and wiring, some hardware, using it to practice painting, coloring and refinishing. All of the things i'd like to do, and I haven't felt like doing on my Ibanez Prestige.

And here's why i'm asking:

Every place with reviews about the affinity are all new players who are unfamiliar with the guitar as an object. It's an icon for them, and when some little buzz pops up, they throw it back like a carp, and spend the rest of their days ragging on it. But no actual reputable player or magazine has sat their ass down and reviewed the bane of the guitar industry's existence. We all look at it as heresy. The cheap, mass produced soulless guitar from chinese sweatshops made of the wood from ransacked Tibetan villages, (please don't sue me, Fender. I'm kidding...hopefully) pickups outsourced by Seymour Duncan to some third world country where kids wind them by hand (please don't sue me, Seymour. I'm kidding...hopefully)  and parts and hardware made from scrapped Russian military bases. (please don't bomb me, China. I'm kidding...hopefully). I haven't seen Guitar World, Guitar Player, or any of the other publications sit the hell down and review it like a guitar. I can't trust a bunch of guitar newbies to tell me if a guitar is legitimately good or bad. Hell, they're the same people who swoon for LTD guitars **yawn**.
So, should I get one? Turn it into a semi-legitimate strat after some leveling, sanding, polishing, removing the Squier label then putting on a Gibson decal and more? Would it be worth it to have a decent framework for a project guitar cost only 150, rather than spent 1800 on one I wouldn't dare touch?

Yes, at some point i'll go to a Guitar Center and give my best try at actually reviewing a Squier, but for now I don't want to leave my house, I simply want to let sparks fly on the internet.

I await comments. Like all of my other posts, I expect to get some grief for the things i've said. It seems I can't say anything right here, but since i'm not running for office, it doesn't matter. Though it seems like I am with all of the crap I seem to get thrown at me by the internet.

Please don't sue me internet, i'm only kidding. Actually, i'm not. Some people have no sense of humor.

Este jogo é um clone do famoso "Guitar Player" onde uma música vai rolando e o jogador tem que apertar, sincronizadamente com a tecla shift, 4 ou 5 teclas de acordo com os marcadores que vão descendo pela tela. No caso, as teclas padrão são F1, F2, F3, F4 e F5, enquanto que o Shift representa a palhetada.

Quem não dispõe do controlador em forma de guitarra pode usar o teclado mesmo, segurando-o com as teclas de função para baixo e usando-o como se fosse guitarra.

Frets on fire vem originalmente com poucas músicas mas, como a comunidade online é porreta, pode-se baixar muitas e muitas já preparadas para o jogo.

O jogo pode ser baixado gratuitamente no SourceForge. Para usuários do Ubuntu, basta ir ao menu Arquivo > Adicionar/Remover programas > localize o item "fretsonfire".

Cuidado, é extremamente viciante!