Clang & Clatter

Joe Satriani himself recently posted this video of guitarist Rhett Butler on his Facebook page performing an arrangement of “Always With Me, Always With You” on two—yes two!—guitars. At the same time. Seriously. I can’t even play that song on one guitar. To quote Satch:

this one is a bit insane…

Frankly, I think Butler is just showing off. And what kind of name is Rhett Butler anyways?!

Frankly, I don’t give a damn.¹

1. It’s called humor and sarcasm, kids. And it’s from a movie (based on a book). Go look it up. And get off my lawn.↩

Connecticut PBS affiliate CPTV visited the workshop of luthier and Hamer co-founder Jol Dantzig to discuss guitar building on the station’s “Spotlight on the Arts” segment of All Things Connecticut. Hear Dantzig talk about what got him into guitars and how he is bringing new life to old electrical components.

Enjoy!

It’s time for another rig rundown with Premier Guitar. This time, in lieu of having their techs go through their rigs, Mr. Big shred-meisters Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan discuss their guitars, amps and effects themselves, all the while displaying how genuinely nice and down-to-earth they both are. No rockstar egos here, boys and girls. The only question I have is … where’s Rebecca?!

Enjoy!

Premier Guitar’s Rebecca Dirks gets the low-down on Billy Gibbons’ rig with guitar tech Elwood Francis. This gear rundown takes us through Billy’s guitars, effects, and amp settings. The biggest revelation of the entire video? Billy uses really skinny strings. 007’s to be exact. The Dunlop Billy Gibbons signature Rev. Willy’s Mexican Lottery Brand .007’s to be even more exact. .007’s?! And according to Francis, he’s never broken a string during his tenure as Billy’s tech. Wow.

Enjoy!

Crap. Add one more kind of guitar to the list of guitars I can’t play.

The Wildhearts mainman Ginger is auctioning his one-of-a-kind bestickered 25th Anniversary Gibson Les Paul on eBay, with all proceeds going to the British Red Cross. The guitar has been with him since before he founded The Wildhearts and has appeared in countless photos.

Note the KISS Rock and Roll Over sticker and the wear on the neck. This guitar has seen some action for sure.

From the eBay auction details:

Released in 1978 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Gibson Les Paul, I bought this guitar around 1987 when I was asked to join New York rockers The Throbs. After a short term in NYC the guitar came back to England with me to form The Wildhearts. I formed the band and recorded every Wildhearts album with this guitar (also Silver Ginger 5 ‘Black Leather Mojo’, Supershit 666 and multiple solo projects). This fine guitar acted as my main guitar on every tour The Wildhearts ever did, including the AC/DC ‘Ballbreaker’ tour, as well as appearances with Sex Pistols, Manic Street Preachers, and many more. And it rarely needed tuning onstage. Basically if you ever saw The Wildhearts I was playing this guitar and if you ever heard The Wildhearts then you were listening to this guitar. Every song was written, played and recorded with this instrument. THIS is history.

And in the Questions section:

Q1) Why on earth are you selling this guitar? Surely the memories etched are too numerous to mention. Part of seeing you and the wildhearts is seeing THAT guitar!
Ginger: The money from the guitar will mean more to some than the memories mean to me. Often we have to give things away to get things in life, and in this case I’ll be receiving the gift of helping someone less fortunate than myself.

Here’s Dave Grohl at the Guitar World studios talking about the creative process of songwriting and how he works the riffs into full-blown songs. It’s no surprise to find out that some of his riffs come from rhythmic patterns revolving around the drum beat. What does surprise me is how simple it all seems once he starts to break the songs apart into individual pieces and explains how he arrived at each place. Listening to him makes me realize that:

1. I need to spend more time with a guitar in my hands without worrying about practicing or getting better or creating something, and

B. Once I hit on something cool, work it out and beat it to death until something good comes out of it.

Oh, and stop trying to make things so dadgummed complicated.

Ty Tabor sits down with Guitar World to demonstrate how he plays King’s X classics “Dogman,” “It’s Love,” “Goldilox,” and “Lost in Germany.” He also discusses tunings, song and riff inspirations, how playing in a band with 12-string bass affects his EQ choices, and his amazement at the longevity his band has enjoyed.

This particular set of clips may not the best representation of his playing, but Ty is one of those guys that makes the guitar look easy, especially in a live setting. His note choices and phrasing are normally impeccable, and I don’t think you could meet a nicer, more humble musician anywhere. And while I’m not a big fan of the lower tunings he has been using since the Please Come Home…Mr. Bulbous days, I’m really digging the tone he’s getting out of his custom Guilford guitars, Duncan P-Rails, and his amps and effects.

Enjoy this inside look of one of my favorite guitarists, and if you enjoy this sort of thing, head on over to GuitarWorld.com and take a look at some of their other video lessons.

The Fender Telecaster celebrates its 60th birthday this year—its predecessor the Esquire was developed by Leo Fender in 1949, two years prior to the introduction of the Tele—and of course, Fender is commemorating this milestone by pulling out all the stops with a 60th Anniversary edition Telecaster. The marketing machine is also in full swing, releasing promotional videos at the Fender site and on its YouTube channel.

This particular video features guitarists across all genres and generations—a cast as diverse as Jeff Beck, Elliot Easton, Vince Gill, Keith Urban, and John 5—singing the praises of Leo’s creation, and we even get to watch a little pickin’ and grinnin’. There’s just something about a Tele that I have always been drawn to—although I’m pretty sure it’s not the characteristic honky tonk “honk”—and I’ve always wanted to own one. Maybe someday …

On a side note, this year also marks the 60th anniversary of the Precision Bass. Let’s see if it gets as much love as its six-stringed cousin. Oh, and I want one of those, too!

Enjoy!

The third part of the Cry Baby rockumentary delves into the guts of the wah-wah pedal to show how inconsistencies in the electronics and the general unreliability and unpredictability of the device over long-term use, coupled with overuse of the effect and a change in musical direction, caused the once obligatory piece of guitar gear to fall out of favor and fashion. But watch as Jim Dunlop inherits the brand, the parts, and the production, and how with a little love and attention, along with advances in electronics and upgrades to the pedal, brings the Cry Baby back from the edge of extinction.

Enjoy!

Now we’re getting to the meat of things and frankly, the part of the Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World rockumentary that I was most looking forward to—the guitarist interviews. This segment takes a look at some of the earliest artists that used the Cry Baby wah pedal in a way that made folks sit up and take notice—Eric Clapton with Cream, Frank Zappa, and most notably Jimi Hendrix with the legendary “Voodoo Child: Slight Return.” We also get to see musicians, journalists, and industry guys talk about their favorite wah-wah moments and how they fit into the changing musical landscapes of rock and funk.

Much to my surprise, the best part of this segment are the funk players Melvin “Wah-Wah Watson” Ragin, who has a funk pedigree a mile long, and Charles “Skip” Pitts, the Stax Records A-list session player most known for his wah-wah work on Isaac Hayes’ “Theme from Shaft.” Those guys are hilarious.

Enjoy!