The Guitar Blog

GarageBand for PC

2017-03-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask me how to install GarageBand on a windows pc, or ask is there a GarageBand for Windows or where to download GarageBand for Windows. I asked the same questions myself and after much surfing and following fake tutorials the truth is that IT DOES NOT EXIST, but actually THIS IS A GOOD THING. Why? Because I get to tell you a secret about a program called Mixcraft 5. I started using GarageBand many years ago and I have always loved it’s no BS drag & drop, user friendly, don’t need a degree in computer science to work it vibe. This is the strength of Apple products generally, no one can doubt the creative and technological minimalism of the IPod right?Sadly, nearly ALL apple software refuses to play nicely with other computers and GarageBand cannot be installed on a Windows PC, this left me with a conundrum, do I:

a) bite the bullet and get a Mac Book and dual boot windows with boot camp (I need windows for work basically)?

or

b) find a GarageBand alternative for Windows.

GarageBand for PC

I have to say that I thought that finding an equivalent to Garageband for Windows would be pretty much impossible, but I started Googling and after a while stumbled upon a review of Acoustica’s Mixcraft 5. Having read a little it seemed to be just like a GarageBand for Windows, so I decided to give it a test drive. It installed VERY fast, so I wondered if it would be up to the job given the epic install time for GarageBand on my Mac Mini. This is likely because of one of the clever Mixcraft 5 things, you don’t download a loop or sound effect till you need it, so you don’t end up using a bunch of space on your hard drive unnecessarily for unused and probably unwanted ones. Even cooler is that you can import your GarageBand loops into it too (if you really need to! there are like 3000 loops and sound effects included spanning every genre from Industrial Techno and Hip Hop to Reggae and Blues).

I was mainly looking to record Guitars, Bass and Vocals but I have found I use the loop library quite a lot to add special effects etc. Some of the bass lines and drum loops are pretty cool too. So if you want to just get an ultra quick demo or a backing track to play with, the loops really speed things up.

In the end I purchased the Musician's Bundle 3 which includes Beatcraft (Beatcraft is a good solid drum sequencer/drum machine which, like Mixcraft, is really simple to use) it works nicely with Mixcraft 5 and means you can record songs complete with drums or basic percussion backings. You can add effects to the drum sequence or individual tracks too in the same way that you add effects to tracks in Mixcraft.

The Mixcraft 5 interface is VERY similar to GarageBand, so you have the typical stack of horizontal tracks on a timeline to play with:

In Mixcraft 5, like GarageBand, you can choose from a bunch of images like drums, guitars and bass to give each track a visual pointer as to what it is. It is very easy to take a recorded guitar riff, for example, and edit it into a loop, which you can then extend indefinitely along the timeline, this is cool for making a quick backing track for practising. But here's a secret.. how many times these days do you think a pro musician plays the same riff over and over again? I'd say 3, if you are lucky, just to get some texture and after that it is looped.

Recording is as easy as arming a track and clicking record and off you go. After you are done it is ultra simple to fade tracks in and out or apply effects to each track or your whole project. New to Mixcraft 5 is automation, which adds the professional option of applying effects, fade out or fade in anywhere along the time-line of your individual tracks. We have all seen a mixing desk levels moving up and down and dials turning automatically, well this is exactly what this is, in fact you can even watch it working if you open the Mixcraft mixer while playing back your projects.

Audio Interface

As with any recording software, it's essential to have a good sound interface, I have been using a Line 6 Pod Studio UX1
which works really well with Mixcraft 5 and allows me to record an effected or clean guitar/bass and an effected or clean vocal at the same time. The benefit of the Line 6 POD Studio is that it has almost zero latency and almost noiseless transfer which means there is almost no delay between when you sing/play a note and what you hear from your monitoring headphones or speakers, which makes it a thousand times easier to record a great (in time/sync) track. For those of you thinking "I can use my microphone directly into the PC", think again! I reiterate, you NEED a good sound interface, think hissy, tinny and everything you hate about bad demo's and that is what you will get, not to mention that actually monitoring what you are recording in real time is nearly impossible. Line 6 championed amp modelling in the now ubiquitous pod series and this box takes that whole concept a step further giving you near zero latency digital recording and more amps, effects and presets than you will ever need in a lifetime. The POD Farm 2 software it comes with, like Mixcraft, is easy to use and worth the money! (see here for a detailed review of the POD Studio UX1).

Mixcraft already has a bunch of built in effects that you can add to all tracks or a single track at a time, but if you have your own favorite VST effects you can use them too. Personally, I like recording dry guitar tracks then using the PodFarm VST plugin from Line 6. You can get exactly the same effect by recording directly from your Pod Studio using the Pod Farm standalone application but I just like having a raw track to play with.

Microphone

A decent microphone will go a very long way to helping you record killer tracks, I have always been fond of the Shure SM58 Vocal Microphone which is the Microphone of choice for almost everyone live and recorded. That said, I also own a Shure SM57
which has a better bass response, typically I use this for recording acoustic guitars and drums, but it is also great for getting a deep dark vocal. Be wise don't scrimp on the microphone, you will get much better results if you don't.

Midi Controller

Mixcraft 5 also comes with a bank of virtual instruments, so if you have a Midi keyboard you can synth away to your hearts content. Mixcraft 5 has the Lounge Lizard Session vintage electric piano, VB3 tonewheel organ, MiniMogueVA monophonic analog synthesizer and the Messiah polyphonic analog synthesizer all built in. The virtual instruments include a bunch of ethnic sounding instruments, which I like to use to add character to acoustic songs, while Mixcraft does include a virtual keyboard that you can use by touching keys on your pc keyboard, it is far easier to use a midi controller, my M-Audio AXIOM 49 MIDI Controller works perfectly with it and it is well worth downloading the 2 free Acoustica piano instruments that you get when you buy. Mixcraft 5 also comes with a cool Midi editor so you can “fix & Tweak” your Midi tracks visually.

Video Editing

If all that wasn't enough, you can also edit video with Mixcraft 5, that includes crossfading Video Clips, editing Audio and adding Sound tracks, once you are done Mixcraft 5 will export the finished product into various popular formats so that you can burn them on to DVD's or upload them to You Tube.

Conclusion

If you want a professional sounding, reasonably priced recording set up for your PC and you are already used to using GarageBand, I really don’t think you can go wrong with Mixcraft 5. While it does not have all of the bells and whistles that it’s significantly more expensive competitors have, it does a fantastic Job of making it very easy to record and for the price, it also offers an amazing range of functions.

Mixcraft is available from Acoustica for $74.95

If you want to take things a step further then I would recommend you take a look at Mixcraft 5 Pro Studio, which essentially includes a suite of mixing and mastering tools plus additional virtual instruments:

Mixcraft 5 Pro Studio Review

Dirty North Lyrics

2011-12-17T19:25:00.000-08:00

Dirty North a superb new Manchester band have a new EP out "You know what I think". They look set to take the currently jaded UK music scene by storm. Their songs are gritty, fresh and new, adding flavor to diverse genres including hiphop, rap, reggae and rock.

Even the Stone Roses like them (praise indeed), Mani the roses drummer offered the band name when asked had they seen anything good recently.

Don't believe me, hear it for yourself, though I warn you it's seriously addictive! I am currently compiling a list of Dirty North Lyrics and will add them below as I get them:

Dirty North Takes Me Away Lyrics
Dirty North You Know What I think Lyrics
Dirty North Down and Out Lyrics

Dirty North Down and Out Lyrics

2011-12-17T07:37:00.000-08:00

Right check, my girl she left
She couldn't cope with the stress
And she be running through my head, non-stop like a game that I lost
I gotta move on but now I gotta grieve for my loss
I know I never knew what I meant to you
I know I never seen what you meant to me
My lyrics make me cry sometimes
When I'm speaking my mind, I'm just writing it rhymes
I remember I was doing it right
But I'm sorry I'm not gonna make it to the finish line
We couldn't do it no more
We kissed one last time
And we said

We said goodbye
I hope I will see you again
But I look at you as more than a friend
You was always there
And you always cared
And I just want to be be with you again
And it's not fair
I'm down and out

We said goodbye
I hope I will see you again
I'm down and out

For all of my endeavors and struggles in life
I carried no regrets, just so many lonely nights
Just so many sick things give me chills
When I think I was on the edge you come and took me from the brink
I get mad when I think about reality
I feel sick when I suck in my anxiety
Cos this break up don't feel right
When you out of my reach, but still in my sight
I remember I was doing it right
But I'm sorry I'm not gonna make it to the finish line
We couldn't do it no more
We kissed one last time
And we said

We said goodbye
I hope I will see you again
But I look at you as more than a friend
You was always there
And you always cared
And I just want to be be with you again
And it's not fair
I'm down and out

Dirty North You Know What I Think Lyrics

2011-12-16T19:29:00.000-08:00

Another great song from Dirty North "You Know What I think"

you know what I think
you should leave your man for me
I am the one you real1y want I can see it clearly
you know what I think
you should leave your man for me
me and you should be together I know that you wanna be
you know what I think
just fuck the flirting all the hurting do the dirty on him
you could be the one for me
your old mans sound if you want him stick around
if you don't we can go now

you know what I think
you should leave your man for me
I am the one you real1y want I can see it clearly
you know what I think
you should leave your man for me
me and you should be together I know that you wanna be
you know what I think
just fuck the flirting all the hurting do the dirty on him
you could be the one for me
your old mans sound if you want him stick around
if you don't we can go now

I seen this girls round a few times before
stoned up repping dirty north with stars talking
and then she starts looking at me naughty
kissed me once then what she seen what she done come close like
I dont want to hurt no-one
so we took it to a dance floor started dirty dancing on the dance hall
21 letters on still going on
me and her looking at each other non stop
dont denie it me and you it sounds right
I think thats what she thought what she wanted from the start
listen girl I didnt promise you my heart
or to give you so many things your old man cant
listen I dont fuck about
but Ill take you home without a doubt thats a promise
sorry but I'm only being honest
temptations playing in my mind
I feel a bit better cos your old mans no mate of mine
hes probably a dick lets face it
the guy saw me checking you and didnt say shit
think we got something and we shouldnt waste it
there'd be no hesitating me and you escaping
you can tell your man your done through
tell him you found someone new
you'd be getting on to me
I can't take it
if you ever ask me what I think
I would tell you straight leave your man today

you know what I think
you should leave your man for me
I am the one you real1y want I can see it clearly
you know what I think
you should leave your man for me
me and you should be together I know that you wanna be
you know what I think
just fuck the flirting all the hurting do the dirty on him
you could be the one for me
your old mans sound if you want him stick around
if you don't we can go now

there's no pity in your city know the days
tell Jackie Wilson not much changed
down here we've been living in sin
I try and be a good man
but the world got the best of me
they make me bad
they make me go mad
i'm a lone man going on a journey till I get back
I try to keep her out the way
but today I see the same girl coming my way
I was like why do you keep giving me the eye
everywhere I go Im gonna see you walk by
wanna rip him out the picture
get you near and I always want you want you here
just can't steer clear
looking in my eyes I have never seen a girl so fine
you can tell your man that you're mine
getting on to me I can't take it
if you ever ask me what I think
I would tell you leave your man today

you know what I think
you should leave your man for me
I am the one you real1y want I can see it clearly
you know what I think
you should leave your man for me
me and you should be together I know that you wanna be
you know what I think
just fuck the flirting all the hurting do the dirty on him
you could be the one for me
your old mans sound if you want him stick around
if you don't we can go now

you know what I think
you should leave your man for me
I am the one you real1y want I can see it clearly
you know what I think
you should leave your man for me
me and you should be together I know that you wanna be
you know what I think
just fuck the flirting all the hurting do the dirty on him
you could be the one for me
your old mans sound if you want him stick around
if you don't we can go now

you know what I think we can go now
you know what I think we can go now
you know what I think we can go now
you know what I think we can go now

Dirty North Takes Me Away Lyrics

2011-12-13T06:51:00.000-08:00

It's rare I get really excited about a new band, but after hearing about Dirty North from Manchester I feel like I feel like I should spread the good news. This is the real thing. No art school airy fairy sh*&t here, just honest to goodness talent. Wishing you well boys you are stars!

Listen to the track on YouTube Here:

Buy the EP here:

http://corporaterecords.co.uk/artists/Dirty+North/Know+What+I+Think/

Check out the Lyrics:

Take me away
Up to the stars rise
Since I been spitting these bars
I know
My minds got a lot more space
and my lifes got a lot better these days
We are what we choose to be
and I'm a picture on the wall for all to see
You can step close if you like
You can look into my soul through my open eyes

Take me away
Up to the stars rise
Since I been spitting these bars
I know
My minds got a lot more space
and my lifes got a lot better these days
We are what we choose to be
and I'm a picture on the wall for all to see
You can step close if you like
you can look into my soul through my open eyes

Take me away
Take me away

With nothing but a big bag of weed and the six strings
its how we get down with the sick things
So come to the show
come and let me tell you what I know
set beside to the corners of my mind
I'm inspired
Pick up my lyric book pacing my room
I could ride every day and every night
Only a fool keeps his eyes on the prize
Chasing the devil for the rest of his life
I'm in it for the journey don't care when I arrive

Take me away cos the music makes me alive

Since I been spitting these bars
I know
My minds got a lot more space
and my lifes got a lot better these days
We are what we choose to be
and I'm a picture on the wall for all to see
You can step close if you like
You can look into my soul through my open eyes

Take me away
Take me away

With my hands on my head
I've been through so much trauma
wo you make me forget dem days
back in the broken home
Theres a little kid pissed with his big bro
I don' forget the things I used to do
but writing bout what I went through
my black ink turns blue
I look back to my past
black pat jawl my life I detach
now I'm back away

Takes me away
yeah it takes me away
Takes me away

Line 6 Mobile In

2011-10-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

Get excited! this finally looks like a decent guitar amp/effects modeller for the iPad and iPod, I have always found Amplitudes iRig a little thin sounding and lacking the features that I am used to in the Pod Farm software I use on my PC. Now things looks set to change! incorporating all those great POD sounds Line 6 are soon launching the Mobile In interface and software for the iPod and iPad platforms.

It supports up to 24-bit/48 kHz digital audio and its guitar input features 110 dB dynamic range, this means that even using it into your existing audio interface on your PC orMac will give you a much higher quality signal. Combine this with compatibility with Garageband on the iPad and this looks set to be the definitive work horse interface and app for working guitarists. And of course it comes with a tuner built in! Just check out the list of amps and effects included:

32 Guitar Amplifiers based on*

1964 Fender® Deluxe Reverb®
1959 Fender® Bassman®
1960 Tweed Fender® Champ®
1965 Blackface Fender® Twin Reverb®
1968 Marshall® Plexi (100 watt)
Marshall® JTM-45 meets Budda® Twinmaster
Budda® Twinmaster head
1960 Vox® AC15
1960 Vox® AC30 (non-Top Boost)
1985 Mesa/Boogie® Mark IIc+ (Clean Channel)
1985 Mesa/Boogie® Mark IIc+ (Drive Channel)
1995 Mesa/Boogie® Dual Rectifier® Head
Dumble® Overdrive Special (Clean Channel)
Dumble® Overdrive Special (Drive Channel)
1989 Soldano SLO Super Lead Overdrive
1987 Roland® JC-120 Jazz Chorus
Line 6 Insane

16 Guitar Cabinets based on*

1960 Fender® Tweed Champ®
1952 Fender® Tweed Deluxe Reverb®
1964 Fender® Deluxe Reverb®
1965 Fender® Blackface Twin Reverb®
1959 Fender® Bassman®
1960 Vox® AC15
1967 Vox® AC30
1995 Matchless Chieftain
1996 Marshall® (Celestion® Vintage 30s)
1978 Marshall® (stock 70s)
1968 Marshall® Basketweave (Celestion® Greenbacks)
Line 6 4x12
Line 6 1x12
Line 6 2x12
Line 6 4x10

16 Stompbox and Rack Effects

Compressor
Tremolo
Chorus 1
Chorus 2
Flanger 1
Flanger 2
Rotary
Delay
Auto Swell
Room Reverb
Spring Reverb
4 Band EQ
Wah
Volume Pedal
A.I.R.
Tuner

GarageBand for Windows

2011-02-20T16:12:00.001-08:00

GarageBand for Windows

I am hoping that you haven't already spent too much time looking for a GarageBand for Windows, or a GarageBand for PC. I did spend a lot of time trying to find it and the truth is that it cannot be done, the only logical thing to do is look for a similar program for the windows platform and, after doing some research, I found the wonderfully intuitive and easy to use Mixcraft from Acoustica.

GarageBand was the game changer for home recording on a mac and while it has some limitations it is the weapon of choice for many aspiring and professional musicians to get their ideas and demos out professionally and more importantly quickly and easily. This is exactly the philosophy that Acoustica have adopted with Mixcraft (software should be easy to use). If you have used GarageBand you will find that you instinctively know how to do things in Mixcraft, the interface is very similar, although not identical, and the learning curve is well within the grasp of any technophobic being dragged screaming into the digital age. You can literally be up and running in a few minutes and can get something useful down in just a few more, it really is that simple.

Not just a Toy

I have to admit that I was expecting Mixcraft to be a bit limiting given the price tag and thought that once I had mastered a few basic skills that I would be upgrading to Pro Tools or the like, in fact, I did once try Pro Tools and found the experience so frustrating that I went back to Mixcraft, it was like trying to operate the space shuttle one handed with a blindfold. Mixcraft is truly a product where the developers have actually listened and the interface has been designed for Humans not automatons. In Mixcraft 5 there are many professional functions like automation and midi editing which means you can totally do a professional job with it. The midi editing is the most intuitive I have come across

and all of the included tools like the mixer and virtual instruments are pretty much self explanatory. If you ever do come across a problem there are plenty of YouTube tutorials to get you out of deep water.

Interface

The program itself is very very similar to GarageBand

and in some ways better when you fire it up you are given the choice of opening a new project for recording yourself or a band, loops & beat matched music (mixing, remixing, mash-ups etc) or virtual instruments and midi plus your own vocals and instruments.

To start recording all you do is arm a track

And click record! That's it, no MIT degree required. After recording or even before you click fx to add great built in VST effects like reverb, delay, compression etc. Of course there is nothing stopping from using any of your favorite VST effects and typically Mixcraft will find them anyway.

Seriously, do yourself a big favor download Mixcraft and give it a try.

Download Mixcraft 5

Buy Mixcraft 5

Guitar Lesson: Left Hand Technique - Be Economical

2010-11-08T01:21:00.000-08:00

One thing I wish I had understood when I started playing the guitar was the importance of practising changes. Simply rehearsing changing between chords (or changing between fills and chords) will eventually make you sound better, but that is like trying to free climb Everest for some people.

What I didn't initially realise was that there are many ways to play the same thing, by that I don't especially mean in a different position on the neck, but it can be that too.

When I used come across something which my fingers wouldn't instinctively do, I would keep playing it until it worked, this is how you build muscle memory in your hands and ultimately how you teach your hands new tricks or changes if you like. While sometimes this is the only option, often there is a better answer which will save you time, cramps and bleeding fingers.

What I do these days is take a good hard look at the change, and work out the most economical way of achieving it. By economical, I mean moving as few fingers as necessary and as short a distance as is possible.

So what does this achieve? mostly speed, but also comfort and ultimately less mistakes. Lets take a look at an example of this in action. I am going to use the intro for Radio Head's High and Dry from the album The Bends.

Ok, so first the tab

e --4--4--4--4\2--2--2--2--2----4--4--4--4\0--0--0--0--0----0
B --0--0--0--0\0--0--0--0--0----0--0--0--0\0--0--0--0--0----0
G --6--6--6--6\4--4--4--4--4----6--6--6--6\2--2--2--2--2----1
D --6--6--6--6\4--4--4--4--4----6--6--6--6\2--2--2--2--2----2
A --x--x--x--x\x--X--X--X--X----x--x--x--x\0--0--0--0--0----2
E --x--x--x--x\x--X--X--X--X----x--x--x--x\x--x--x--x--x----0

The above intro is repeated a few times at the beginning of the song and again after the chorus, the part I want you to look at is the section marked in yellow which is a slide down. Now instinctively you will want to play the part on the second fret after the slide down using your first and second fingers (as you would play an A Chord) the trouble with that is that it makes the slide down impossible. So if we look at the previous chord, the best way to play it is to put your first finger on the top e string at the 4th fret, the B string drones open, then your third finger G string at the 6th fret and lastly your 4th finger on the d string at the 6th fret. See below

4th Fret 5th Fret 6th Fret
E| 1 | | |
B| | | |
G| | | 3 |
D| | | 4 |
A| | | |
E| | | |

Now if you slide the whole shape down and lift off your first finger you can easily get to the second chord smoothly, quickly and economically.

New Surf Rock Band: The Fins

2010-10-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

My new pet project is a Surf Rock outfit called The Fins, I have always loved the Surf sound from the Ventures, Shadows, Dick Dale and the Deltones and Link Wray etc. For me this is a real challenge, moving away from my Blues Indie Rock comfort zone and Steel Guitar Slide shenanigans.

The Fins have some pre-defined rules:

1. Sound like and as good as the originals
2. Be quiet enough to play anywhere
3. Be most the most fun you can have with your clothes on!

With 2 practices under our belt and at least 10 songs covered, including 2 originals, I am feeling really good about this one. It's cool, it's great fun and best of all we already have a following without ever having done a gig!

Check out the Site:

http://www.the-fins.com

Mixcraft 5 Released

2010-02-19T21:47:00.001-08:00

My favorite recording software just got a major overhaul and Mixcraft 5 is now available to buy on the Acoustica Page. Mixcraft 5 includes many new functions including the ability to edit video. This means that not only can you create professional sounding tracks but you can also add soundtracks and edit your videos too.
Mastering in Mixcraft 5 is now much easier, as you have access to cool new mixer tool and you can also use send tracks or edit the master track, adding effects, fades etc. Seriously if you thought GarageBand was good and often wanted it on your windows machine then Mixcraft 5 is the closest you can get!
Easy to use, produces great quality recordings and more virtual instruments, loops than you could ever use in a lifetime.

Acoustica Coupon

2010-01-07T20:52:00.000-08:00

Acoustica Coupon

I am sorry to say that after a good run Acoustica have now cancelled this coupon, the links below still take you to the relevant product pages but the coupon is no longer valid, thank you Acoustica.

If you are a fan of the Acoustica range of products like Mixcraft, Breatcraft, Pianissimo, DJ Twist & Burn and Spin it Again then you will be pleased to hear that for a limited time only readers of the Guitar Blog are eligible for a 10% discount on all Acoustica products. All you need do is click on the product links below and the product will be added to the Acoustica checkout with the 10% discount automatically applied to the order:

Download

Acoustica Musician's Bundle 3 Coupon

Acoustica Mixcraft 5 Coupon

Acoustica Pianissimo Coupon

Acoustica Beatcraft Coupon

Acoustica DJ Twist & Burn Coupon

Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker

Acoustica Spin It Again Coupon

Boxed

Mixcraft Pro Studio 5 Boxed Coupon

Mixcraft 5 Boxed Version Coupon

Musician's Bundle 3 Boxed Version Coupon

Beatcraft Boxed Version Coupon

Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker Boxed Version Coupon

Pianissimo Boxed Version Coupon

Spin It Again Boxed Version Coupon

Enjoy!

Republic Guitars Resorelic Tricone Resonator Review

2010-01-07T06:04:00.001-08:00

I love the sound that Chris Whitley used to make on his old battered National Resophonics, reminds me of dirty beer smelling live houses and steamy summer acoustic nights at the acoustic cafe. I did own a National Style 0 for a bit, but sadly had to part with it before moving to Japan. I have to say the Style 0 was a bit of a one trick pony and while I would have loved to use it extensively, I mainly used it for bottle neck blues and Chris Whitley covers. That said there has been a Style 0 shaped hole in my guitar collection (and heart) ever since!

With the economic downturn in the world right now I, like many others, are finding it hard to reason out paying the going rate for a National these days (2000 bucks or more) so I started looking for an alternative, I played a few Johnsons and other cheap Chinese made Reso’s but never really found one I like, they just didn’t sound like the Style 0 and many were simply badly made, so in the end I gave up and decided to save up for a new National.

Then an old friend of mine, who I hadn’t jammed with in ages paid me a visit and brought a long his new Republic Duolian and his Style 0, I have to say that the National was louder, but in many ways (including the look of it) I preferred the Republic. It had a Resorelic finish which means it looks like it had been left out in a swamp for years and in IMHO damn cool to look at. The set up was excellent (out of the box) and had required no adjustments at all. When I asked about the price I got a real shock, a quarter of the price of a National and less than half of what I expected!

As with many guitars, I suspected it may have been a bit of a lucky buy, you can of course pay mega bucks for a dud and I have found with budget Guitars generally you need to try a few (maybe even a hundred before finding a diamond in the rough). After persuading my other half that this was a bargain and far more important than any Kitchen, New car, house etc. (not an easy task at all!) I set about trying to find one in Japan. Eventually I found some reasonably close, so I set off to try them out. The same shop also had a bunch of Nationals and Dobros so it was an ideal place to try them out and compare them with their ludicrously expensive counterparts. The Republic is a lighter guitar than the National and I found a Tricone which looked and sounded great, unfortunately it also had some minor finish issues which made me think about it instead of buying outright. The sound should be enough right, but while the Republic is cheap for what you get, I would still expect a little better attention to detail than the average Chinese clone.

Eventually, I decided to speak to Frank from Republic Guitars, based in Texas USA, and after a bouncing a few emails back and forth I decided to order a new Tricone via his web site. A couple of things you should bear in mind when you do this, firstly the Guitar you get is not the one you see in the picture and in my case Frank was able to send me some pictures of the one he picked out for me, which had a similar finish to the one I had tried here in Japan. The Resorelic finish is completely random so every one is different! Frank also promised to send one that sounded and played nice too. Again it is a difficult choice to buy a Guitar sight unseen so this kind of reassurance and personal attention to detail that you get from Frank is unusual and unique.

The Guitar arrived within a week perfectly packed and looked and sounded great as promised. There were however some minor finish problems, which I have now had repaired and in fairness to Frank, when I pointed these out, he gave me a partial refund to cover the cost of repair. The cost of returning the guitar and sending a new one would be more than the Guitar itself and you would need to pay that yourself so you should be potentially prepared to have the guitar given the once over by your friendly local guitar shop. I was moderately disappointed at the time, but given the refund and the fact that the Guitar sounds and looks awesome (and remember you could buy 3 or 4 of these for the cost of a single National) I think you definitely get your moneys worth, if you are stickler for manufacturing perfection then I would save your bucks for a National.

All in all I give the Republic a 7/10 for quality, 9/10 for sound, 8/10 for playability, 9/10 for service, 8/10 for value. It is a great guitar for gigging as you don’t get a heart attack every time someone dings it etc and still looks and sounds great without requiring a second mortgage to pay for it.

Mixcraft 5 Preview

2009-11-10T05:15:00.001-08:00

[Edit] Mixcraft 5 has now been released and for a limited time only you can get a 10% discount, see here for details: Mixcraft 5 10% Discount Coupon[/Edit]

Mixcraft 4.5, the GarageBand for windows and my tool of choice for my home studio, has been making a name for itself in the recording software market for some time now, bashing the bigger boys on the DAW scene with it’s ease of use and professional functionality at a fraction of the cost.

According to the Mixcraft forum, the new version, Mixcraft 5 could soon be making it’s debut at the NAMM show in January 2010.

From the demo screen grab above, you can clearly see that a mixer has been added to Mixcraft 5 and it also appears that you can edit and sync video with audio in this latest version.

Previously, mixing was done by adjusting the level or panning on each track on the left side, so this new mixer should be more intuitive as it mimics the style of hardware mixers. Also visible in the preview is a CPU mixer and an additional new video menu. It also looks like the sound editor now has a separate row for editing fades, swells etc. which should be easier as it was slightly more fiddly to do in Mixcraft 4.5.

I for one will be looking forward to it, it is already a great product, if they add midi control to its already impressive list of functions, I will be made up! See here for the original forum post and comments form other users and Mixcraft staffers:

Mixcraft 5 Forum

[edit] Second screen grab from the Acoustica forum clearly shows multiple VST effects open and what looks to be a software midi keyboard built in![/edit]

Mixcraft Coupon

2009-10-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

Sadly this coupon has now expired, the below links still take you to the product page.

Following my previous article about Mixcraft 5, the GarageBand for Windows, until the end of October) Acoustica have generously provided a 10% discount on purchases of Mixcraft 5 and Mixcraft 5 Pro Studio Boxed exclusive to readers of The Guitar Blog!
So here is what you do, click one of the links below (for Mixcraft 5 Download, Mixcraft 5 Pro Studio and the Musicians Bundle which includes Mixcraft 5)

Mixcraft 5 Download Version.

Mixcraft 5 Boxed Version Coupon

Mixcraft Pro Studio 5 Boxed Version

Musician's Bundle 3 Boxed Version

The product will be added to your cart and the coupon will automatically be entered and applied to your order:
And that's it, all you do now is to complete the checkout process as usual and you're done!

With or without you on a resonator

2009-05-25T03:18:00.001-07:00

Just saw this vid over at http://www.reso-nation.org and thought I’d share.

Top 10 Electric Guitars of all time

2009-05-23T08:29:00.001-07:00

The Guitar Blogs Definitive List

10. Fender XII

This guitar always seems to get a bad rap, I suppose the price tag for a vintage is a bit high (around $3500) but still, that is relatively low for a piece of history. So hate me, I am ignoring the ‘no stairway’ sign here! this was the guitar that Jimmy Page actually used to record Stairway to Heaven not the double necked SG used for all the live versions, if you have ever have a chance to play one then you will hear that instantaneously recognizable natural chorus and harpsichord like 12 string sound, I like the Rickenbacker 12’s too but I think the Fender XII has a slightly grungier sound and is easier to get some vibrato on the strings. Tuning as with any 12 is a bit of a mission but you get better over time and actually I like a slightly out 12 string over a perfectly tuned one as it adds to the natural chorus effect.

9. Gibson Explorer

This innovatively designed guitar from Gibson first saw the light of the day in 1958 and was way ahead of its time, so it is kind of strange it gets pegged as a heavy metal axe, this is actually due to the fact that Hamer copied the design in the 70’s, which in turn prompted a reissue of the explorer and it became popular among heavy metal players at the time. These days, the edge from U2 has dusted off his explorer and has used it religiously the last couple of albums. I like anything that looks like real wood so this was a hit with me, sound wise the Gibson Explorer
is a bit brighter than a SG but not as warm a Les Paul, kind of like the Telecaster/Stratocaster deal. I have owned one sold it then bought it back! while never my favorite axe, it has it’s own tonal qualities that you just can’t get out of a Les Paul.

8. PRS Custom

I suppose it kind of bugs me to put this in here, I am a vintage guy at heart and while a PRS Custom
is undeniably a pretty guitar it doesn’t IMHO have the character of some of the other axes in this list. That said it does things (like staying in tune) and makes sounds that no other guitar in the list can do, so while not first on the shopping list, I have long ago realized that as recording artist you really can’t go wrong with a PRS, of course you wouldn’t see me dead with a dragon inlayed gothic looking one unless I was trying to start a bonfire with it!

7. Rickenbacker 360/6 or 12

Hard Day’s Night, Mr Tambourine Man, Anywhere Anyway Anyhow, some of the best songs of our time have been picked out on the old Ricky, as I like to call them. Out of the box they ooze quality and are built like a brick ….house, kind of like the volvo of the guitar world. Certainly not a sound for every guitarist and not at all easy to get different sounds out of them, but all that doesn’t really matter, the sound they make is sweet and it doesn’t take long to fall in love with it. Add to that the classic art deco look and there can be no doubt the Rickenbacker is a quality instrument which has a place in the arsenal of any serious guitarist. Personally, I love the sound the edge got out of one with a slide in Even Better Than the Real Thing on Achtung Baby.

6. Danelectro DC3

Cheap as chips and made out of Bakelite, the DC3 is as legendary for it’s bargain basement price tag as it unique down and dirty blues sound. It’s a nightmare to tune, the action sucks but for some reason I can’t help but love this guitar. If you want to get that White Summer Black Mountain side tone or the dirty rattling slide sound off of In my time of dying, plug this into an even cheaper amp and there it is, the sound people pay thousands of dollars for, good old fashioned low tech blues rattle and hum. Luckily Danelectro reissued the DC3
a couple of years back and you can easily pick one up off eBay for half nothing. You will hate it for the first couple of days, curse the intonation and fret buzzes, then it dawns on you… It is not supposed to be an angelic guitar, its what you drag through the mud, throw in a gig van, cover with beer and then play it as low down and dirty as you can… I call mine Lolita.

5. Gibson SG

The Gibson SG (Solid Guitar)
is the bastard son of the Les Paul and was originally designed as the next incarnation of the Les Paul itself. Legend has it that Les Paul saw the beast in a shop window (advertised as a Les Paul), Les, having had no idea that it had even been manufactured, disliked it so much that he promptly refused to have his picture taken with it, despite the conditions of his deal with Gibson. I have to agree with Les, I find it a rather ugly guitar, but that said, it sounds superb and is lighter than its Daddy the Les Paul, curiously I find that they sound quite similar despite the SG being a lot lighter and also easier to fret the higher notes because of the larger cutaway. This is probably my favorite gigging guitar and because of its utilitarian design it seems to avoid scratches, dents and dings better that any other guitar I have ever owned.

4. Gibson ES335

For me the Gibson Custom ES335
is the best looking guitar ever made, it’s no wonder that BB King calls his Lucille, check out those curves! This is also one of the mellowest guitars of the bunch, so if you are looking for some bite there are better choices out there. The 355 is also the only hollow body in the list, I just fall for those F holes every time. Don’t be mislead though, the unplugged sound, while moderately louder than a solid body, this is definitely not an electro acoustic with electric pickups, I am sure my neighbors are made up when I choose this over the martin to strum in wee hours! This is the Frank Sinatra of guitars, all lounges and velvet. Add a bit of overdrive and you have the sweetest mid range guitar in the world. If the brat pack had a signature guitar it would be the ES 335!

3. Fender Stratocaster

Personally, I have never liked the look of the Strat. I really don’t know why, but I think it looks a bit cheesy. It is, however, one of the most versatile guitars in the list and probably the easiest to play after the PRS. Secretly, my favorite model is the Eric Clapton signature, though I wouldn’t be seen dead playing it live! First up it is red and white… need I say more! This model sounds unbelievable, despite looking like an extra in the 80’s TV series Miami Vice. The second tone pot is a boost which works great, so you can go overdrive with a twist of the knob. For recording you can get so many sounds out of a Strat, but my personal favorite is still the mid setting (3 on the pickup selector) for that out of phase Hendrix sound. It used to be the case that you could get hold of a decent Japanese Strat but these days I would go USA. They are made better, weigh more and there is no comparison in my book.

2. Fender Telecaster

People complain that the Tele is a buzzy guitar that lacks the depth of the Strat, it is exactly these tonal qualities which makes it my number 2. It is no accident that again and again I find myself recording Rhythm on my ES 335 and laying down punchy twangy lead with the Tele. My personal favorite is the 60th anniversary edition (if you can handle the silly diamond they inlayed in the headstock, dude this is a guitar not an engagement ring doh!) there are some unique features with this one which IMHO make it more playable, most importantly is the bridge, which is missing the sides of the typical Telecaster biscuit tin, this means its easier or rather possible to damp and it also has Strat-like string saddles, which make it stay in tune longer than the standard Tele bridge. I am not a maple fret board guy and happily the 60th anniversary comes with the rosewood and a maple satin finish neck (best of both worlds IMHO, though the satin is not quite as pretty as the regular). I left the plastic cover on the finger board and it is yellowed, blistered and peeled like vintage lacquer (I am sure this is completely unintended, but I often get people asking me how old it is).

1. Gibson Les Paul

The obvious winner, not really, actually I did some serious soul searching before making Gibson Les Paul
my number one. Surprisingly, I have had a love hate relationship with this guitar over the years. It is not at all a forgiving guitar and mistakes seem to ring out for all to hear. Jimmy Page is testament to this and I think that Jeff Becks seemingly indestructible playing could be less indestructible if the Les Paul was his weapon of choice. Personally, I would site the Les Paul as being the instrument which pushed my envelope in terms of learning and I suppose this is why I have the love hate relationship with it. Simply put this guitar will bite you in the ass if you don’t give it the respect it deserves. If you do, and in those sublime moments that your hands just do what your imagination is willing them to do, there is real art to be found in the sounds it is capable of creating. If you have to have one then you have to get a Gold Top! There can be only 1!

I hope you have enjoyed my top 10 and remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, this is my own two cents, for what it’s worth, and has been a long time cooking, the list would have looked totally different even 2 years ago and I am sure in a couple more years it could be very different again. Tune in soon for my acoustic list.

New Start!

2009-05-13T07:50:00.001-07:00

When I write new songs there is very often some real world trigger that gets me in the mood, very often that is a new guitar (go figure) but sometimes it can be learning a new technique. I am VERY familiar with those head slapping moments, you know the ones where you say, ahhhhhhhh so that’s how you do that then. This week I was once again humbled by a bit of technique which has again opened the creative pipes for me.

First off let me thank the source of the technical wisdom which started this, for those of you familiar with you tube and good quality guitar tutorials I am sure you must have already heard of the now legendary Justin Sandercoe. If not, I highly recommend you check out his site: http://www.justinguitar.com this guy rocks in terms of the quality of the lessons and the fact that he is an all round decent geezer from the UK who doesn’t suffer from delusions of Grandeur. I have been meaning to sort out one of my weak spots on the guitar for a long time, which is finger picking. I have always been method guitarist and have never had a lesson in my life, this can be useful in that you don’t sound like every other guitarist but there are moments when you really wish that you had had at least a couple of lessons to get the basics.

Recently, I started listening to a bit of Bob Dylan and got really attached to a song called Don’t think twice, the picking style can be found in a bunch of country songs and I had always thought that my fingers just wouldn’t go fast enough to do that. Justin Guitar to the rescue! within about 40 minutes I had the style going and while I did not have all the parts of the song worked out I was well on the way. The following day I applied the technique to some of my favourite alternative tunings and found a really interesting progression or two and today it developed into a new song.

That’s what I love most about the guitar, there is always something new even after 20 years playing!

Petition For Rewire Support and Midi Control in Mixcraft

2009-04-15T21:40:00.001-07:00

Having waxed lyrical about the great Mixcraft product from Acoustica, there are some features that have been left out, I use Propellorhead Reason to get some great synth sounds and unfortunately you cannot use the rewire interface in Mixcraft so you cannot get direct access to your Reason sounds via the Mixcraft interface.

I noticed a small petition starting over at the Acoustica forum so thought I would post the URL here to help get the movement started to make an already great product even better.

http://demon.acoustica.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?p=16213

I think it is also a great example of how the internet community can have a positive effect and influence over products and companies. The companies themselves benefit from essentially free feedback about what we want from them and we in return get products which do what we would like them do rather than what the companies THINK we would like them to do.

Everyone’s a winner!

Coldplay VS U2 Viva La Horizon!

2009-03-15T04:17:00.001-07:00

Introduction
I said not so long ago that I couldn’t see Coldplay taking U2’s place in the near future, but I may have been a little premature..

Twins
Last year we saw the release of Coldplay’s contemporary masterpiece Viva La Vida and I have to say it was a grower, in retrospect I probably missed a couple of songs as I got mired down by the Albums fashion statement which looked ever so familiar.

The first vinyl album I ever bought was Prince Charming by Adam and The Ants and for those of you unaware of this 80’s New Romantic phenomenon, Adam and the Ants were the band that donned threads that would not have been out of place in Louis XVI court with heavy eyeliner and white nose stripes (apache style) and rocked the house with post punk military marching band pop.

While Coldplay have thankfully dispensed with the eyeliner and make up generally, the costumes are certainly VERY familiar and this similarity has not been lost on Adam Ant himself (who made a well humoured side swipe about it at a recent awards ceremony). The Adam and the Ants drums are also there under the usual Coldplay-ness. This may sound like I’m having a go, but credit where credit is due, while the plagiarism is definitely there, Coldplay have taken their Adam and The Ants-ness into a new dimension and I am ecstatically happy they have chosen such a ground breaking sound to draw creatively on. Their last offering X&Y smacked of Kraftwerk (the Band admitted as much) and, with a couple of exceptions, had all the warmth of Tuna Sashimi, lacking the emotional introspection and depth of their previous work. I saw them live in Osaka a couple of weeks ago and despite Chris Martin’s anti rock star awkwardness they even managed to get the robotic Japanese audience jumping up and down (no mean feat in itself).

Zen Minimalism
Similarly, this months new release from U2, No Line on the Horizon, has taken the plagiaristic road, except in U2’s case they have chosen to plagiarise themselves. This may sound decadent and it is not the first time they have done it either, but I am inclined to think that this time they may have got it right. They have clearly gone back to their roots and employed the producers and soundscape engineers of albums-old and that is clearly evident in the end product, with each of the songs being Eno-centric, Lanoisish or Lilywhitian. This is old school Electronica, which smacks of their highly underated concept album Zooropa and merges that chemical darkness with a lyrical sense of humour seen more recently in Bono’s word babies.

In many ways the first single Boots (which shouldn’t be on the Album IMHO) belies the depth of the other tracks. Boy’s you don’t need to pander to the spotty adolescent masses! It is the uncles and aunts these days who splash on the CD’s instead of hitting the torrent sites.

Message To U2
The more you try and squeeze a few dollars out of everything you do the more people you WILL alienate (I strongly object to having to pay for access to material on the U2 website having bought ALL the albums, sometimes twice due to infinite borrowing, bought live DVD’s, been to concerts etc etc there comes a time when you just got to ask the question, how much money does one band need in one lifetime? Or perhaps the question is how much money does one manager need, as Bono himself pointed out in their Slane gig as he thanked their parents for the lend of 500 pounds he also points out that the audience have probably all each given them 500 pounds too so just stop it! You can’t campaign against world poverty then squeeze minimum wagers for an additional 50$ to get a glimpse of the decent content on your bands website. Bono, glass, houses, stones, throw, people..fair trade? rearrange into a well known phrase or saying!) rant over!

Anthemic Sing-along's
In all fairness to U2 and despite the hype surrounding any new release from them, as a diehard fan I honestly believe this to be their Abbey Road. It sounds honest, to me it sounds like the cure to their creative constipation exhibited in their last release Atomic Bomb (There are 2 corkers on that one too Original of the Species and Crumbs). If you close your eyes you can mentally hear the bowels unclenching as the Edge reinvents the Fly Riff in No line on the Horizon and in the Funkiness of stand Up as Bono urges us to stop helping God across the road like a little old lady. Sure, there are no 3am whiskey in hand sing-along numbers like with or without you, but where bands like Radiohead dive into audio soup occasionally surfacing for a melodic breath of fresh air, this audio soup has the depth and energy of Boy, the electronic darkness of Zooropa and the timeless infinity and melody of the Joshua Tree all in one. If they never do another album then this does a wicked impression of the last ever album from a band, so Good Job Boys!

The Pudding
So why do I say that U2’s position as best rock band in the world maybe in danger of succumbing to a hostile take over bid from Martin and the Ants? Simply put there ARE anthemic sing-along's in Coldplay’s album, there ARE moments of vocal back tingling in songs like Lost and it is accessible these are the things I also love about U2’s music. I am not saying this is good thing, bands should not constantly be striving to birth crowd pleasers, so props to U2 for taking the dive back into the creative gene pool but lets be honest here Coldplay also dived in reinvented their sound and came out with a few even the tone deaf can hum to.

The 5 years in the wilderness it takes for U2 to come up with a new album allows pretenders to take their seat, albeit temporarily and quite frankly it looks sometimes like they have either run out of ideas or are happy to receive website membership cheques instead of making some honest money out of releasing good new material. Back when ATYCLB came out (all that you can’t leave behind for non U2 speak literate) Bono boldly stated that were reapplying for the position of best band in the world, in my book it’s about time they did it again or stand aside.

AK47 Guitar

2009-02-17T23:43:00.000-08:00

Last month I found what I thought was the Ugliest Guitar in the world, this month I found another contender in this one, styled in the shape of an AK47. Full marks to the taste by-passed luthier here for a truly nasty looking axe.

Interestingly, this doesnt seem to be an isolated incident, I found this bass guitar on Amazon. As to why anyone would either want one or want to make one for that matter remains a mystery, but who am I to stand in the way of creativity. Jimmi Hendrix has a lot to answer for "machine gun", I can just see all the "weapons of massed destruction" thrash metal bands spawning now! Still, if Fender manufacture an assualt rifle that looks like a tabacco sunburst 57 Telecaster, I'll be first in line :).

Buying A Guitar Online: why it’s not as crazy as it sounds

2009-02-16T10:10:00.001-08:00

Introduction
For some musicians the thought of buying a guitar online really does sound like a joke and a bad one at that. On the surface it certainly appears that could indeed be the case. Just the thought of having your new baby handled by couriers would strike fear into the hearts of even the hardiest of tour hardened musos, with many of us instinctively opting for Kevlar cases. I am here to tell you that it doesn't have to be like that at all and that there are actually numerous benefits to be gained by going down this route.

Check The Return Policy
This is really the golden rule of buying anything online, as once you have checked this, you can’t really go wrong. Ideally you want a no questions asked returns policy, which doesn’t require payment. Also, remember that until you sign for the receipt of the goods, they are not legally yours, so if your new axe turns up “folded” for postage you can send it back on it’s merry way (without signing anything).

It’s logical Captain
Most people worry about how the instrument will get to them and more importantly how it will be mishandled. But just think about that for a minute, do you really think the Guitar Shops receive them from bubble wrapped couriers with velvet gloves? It is obviously in the interests of the vendors to get the instrument to you in good shape because the cost of fixing that particular problem will likely render the sale void of profit.

Can’t Try Before You Buy
Many would argue that not being able to try the instrument before buying it is the real deal breaker and that could of course be the case. But lets face up to another couple of realities here. First up, most of us have at least decided on a make and model before buying one and while the quality and sound can vary greatly between instruments, it is my experience that a lot of this is due to set up or lack of it. Most shops spend little time on this either, so really, a guitar you find in a shop that has a great action and sounds great out of the box is more by luck than judgement. Obviously, Guitars at the top of the range should have been factory checked but that is not always the case. I picked up a Les Paul Gold Top a while ago that had been reduced by 50% because it played like a dog. I snapped it up took it to my set up genius John and had it sounding sweet in no time. This obviously only works for adjustable guitars, but for any guitarist getting a good set up done by a professional is not only essential, but will really make your playing enjoyment and value of ownership oh so much better, take it from someone who has made the mistake too many times!

The major benefit of buying online is the latitude that a private store probably won’t give you. When I first bought guitars I often bought dogs because I just didn’t know what I was looking for, and having worked out that they were dogs I found it next to impossible to get a refund or a replacement (we’ve all heard the Hendrix used to play with a really high action line, it’s just that when you can park an SUV under the E-string it begins to sound a little unbelievable). Obviously, the sooner you return the guitar if you find a problem the less likely you will have difficulties, don’t gig, sweat and vomit on it and then expect to get a full refund!

Money Matters
You can get really good deals online too that a shop just can’t make. I have bought a couple of Guitars from Amazon for instance and I did so because the price was right because they buy in bulk. The average town has one or no music stores, so the ability to price up an instrument from all the available online stores can make a significant difference in the cost of the instrument as competition is great, but don’t just go for the cheapest ALWAYS make sure the returns policy is iron clad.

I like Mine Cherry
Most guitars you buy from stores will also have been played by thousands of people before you even see it, the guitars that you get online pretty much always turn up boxed and packaged without seeing any sunlight since they left the factory, I like that! I want to wear it in myself with my technique and gently break it in, not having had the greasy fingers of a million other Jimmy Page wannabes on it before hand!

Conclusion
I have bought anything from a Les Paul to a Martin online and while I have had some difficulties, it is certainly not as stressful as having a greasy piercing riddled Goth ask you “how it is” every 2 minutes or the tutting and sighing that goes with asking to demo the most expensive guitar in the shop or competing with 20 other strummers for audio space in a guitar shop. I would certainly recommend trying it, it works for me, provided you factor in a good set up (which you should for any guitar anyway). Once you get over the initial paranoia it is actually probably the most sensible way to buy one anyway.

The Chameleon Guitar

2009-02-04T05:31:00.001-08:00

The geniuses over at MIT are now putting technology to work for us Guitarists. The invention, dubbed ‘The Chameleon Guitar’ as its centre section can be replaced with various different woods, looks set to take the emulated guitar sound to the next level by using real wood to characterise the outputted sound. This is coupled with an onboard computer that uses 5 piezo pickups to record the characteristics of the wood and to emulate different shapes and sizes of the resonating chamber. The video demonstrates using a Martin style centre and classical style centre.

The creator, Amit Zoran, says that because the actual wood used for the sound board is small and inexpensive so it provides a freedom of experimentation not afforded by a guitar entirely crafted from expensive woods. Helped by Marco Coppiardi, an experienced instrument builder, and under the direction of Media Lab Associate Professor Pattie Maes the team has produced a second proof of concept instrument which has a quick change mechanism for the wooden centre sections.

I loved the old Yamaha silent guitars and the more recent Line 6 Variax acoustics, so this has really got my guitar buds salivating. That said, there may be a bit of a wait on this particular item as it is still a thesis project and the creator is intending to complete his degree before it becomes a commercial project.

Still, I want one! Check out the article over at the MIT site:

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/chameleon-guitar-0203.html

The ugliest guitar in world?

2009-01-28T22:33:00.000-08:00

No No No No No No No No

I just found this gruesome beast on e-bay marked 'unique electric guitar’; unique for very good reasons I would say. Having completed it, taken in the sheer ugliness of the mistake and after vomiting profusely. My guess is the (most definitely medicated luthier) would have declared, like oh so many hung-over binge drinkers before him.... Never again! If, like me, you would be fixated by a) would someone actually bid for this and b) how much hard earned cash would this taste bypassed individual actually pay for this monstrosity then get yourself over to the bidding wars now:
The ugliest guitar in the world

Mixcraft VS Garageband PC users choice for home recording

2009-01-27T03:03:00.000-08:00

Abbey Road in your laptop
Back in the good old days, cutting a demo could cost you anything from 500 to a few thousand dollars. Add to that mastering, jewel cases and covers etc. and you would really need to WANT it really bad. Nowadays, of course we have the ability knock out good quality demos with a laptop and an audio interface. Even if it is just to get a new idea out to the guys in the band or to speed up the creative process, the ability to quickly lay down a track is IMHO really changing the way that bands work and create.

In some ways this is good, you don’t need to spend hours in a rehearsal studio coming up with ideas and parts for new songs, in some ways this is bad as essentially an individual is able to write a whole piece without the input of the other musicians. I like to think that the input of all the musicians in a band actually gives songs a signature that is unique to that group of musicians and that a good band is not necessarily full of virtuosos. Essentially the mix of creative inputs and the relationships within that band is reflected in the songs and that the sum of the parts is not mathematical and usually exceeds the individual talent involved.

That’s not to say that we cannot virtually continue the same process by emailing mp3 and bouncing ideas that way, but there are some things that can only be learned on a tour bus or in dark smelly rooms under railway lines, if nothing else it is an experience and adds to the legend of a band.

NASA Mission Control
Some of these software recording studios really do look like the flight deck of a 747 and I have tried a few of them and basically come to the conclusion that you would need a degree from MIT to fully grasp the potential of the software, not to mention the price attached which is usually the equivalent of making over a room in your house or a holiday. Then garage band came along, which IMHO revolutionised the home DAW set up, it does not have the bells and whistles of its older brothers and sisters (nor should it) but the learning curve is substantially smaller and even the biggest technophobes could (with a little RTFM) produce something reasonable. The main criticism I have of garage band is that it is for the MAC only and despite U2’s unflinching sell of the Apple cool aid, I have yet to be tempted into buying a product just because it looks nice. Having played with garage band and seeking to be unbound from my Mac Mini (which I essentially use as a region free dvd player and jukebox at which it excels), I was really looking for something which did the same job on my windows laptop, a GarageBand for windows pc if you like, which is when I found the Acoustica site.

Enter Acoustica Mixcraft
Mixcraft is very much like Garageband to use (get a trial download here), I bought my copy when it was at version 3 the latest version is 5, which I have since upgraded to. I opted for the Musicians Bundle 3
which includes their Beatcraft product (which is a drum sequencer and a good one at that). At under $100 this is really inexpensive compared to its older brothers and to my mind produces equivalent results and has a lot of similar functionality. Some notable omissions are midi controller compatibility (you cannot control Mixcraft with one) but you can use a midi keyboard to interface with the bundled virtual instruments and it has a really cool midi editor so you can fix your f$&%ups… err solos. For those of you with a VST fetish you can use your favourite ones with Mixcraft too. As with any home recording set up you need to have a decent audio interface, especially if you want to record guitars/vocals etc. and after trying a few I have come to the conclusion that for a guitarist/song writer you can't go too wrong with the line 6 pod studio range. I have a Pod Studio UX1 which basically has zero latency and can record a vocal and guitar at the same time. If I am looking for a quick zero roadie set up I actually do small gigs with mine (see here for a better explanation of what it does)

Now I am not a professional recording engineer, so I am ducking now as a bunch of professionals start throwing mic stands, amps and other bits and pieces at me, I am not saying you can record the white album on Mixcraft, but if Beck could do most of Mellow Gold on a three track then I am sure you can produce something pretty good on it. In fact I have on numerous occasions and have even got some great live gig recordings out of it.

What it does, is essentially help build a new entity in the music business….. The Bedroom Band! And more than that you don't need an MIT degree to operate it!

For a limited time only readers of the Guitar blog can get an exclusive 10% discount on the recommended retail price for Mixcraft (Thank you Acoustica!) just click on the image below to be taken to the Acoustica Checkout with the discount automatically applied.

Japanese Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop

2009-01-23T00:23:00.000-08:00

I picked up a new (rather never sold) Epiphone Les Paul Goldtop (Made in Japan) a couple of weeks ago, I was wondering around in a dodgy area of Osaka in here in Japan and came accross the guitar shop that time forgot. The old guy in there was literally surrounded by piles of New (but never sold) guitars. Anyway I saw this and had to have it! Most of the new epiphones have that hideously large headstock which looks well just hideous! Epiphone Les Paul 1956 Goldtop Electric Guitar, Gold Top

This one looks the part and the color of the gold is delicious too.

I did the pepsi challenge with this and my Gibson Les Paul standard (I got my wife to hand me each one blindfolded) and I have to say I thought this sounded better than the real one. The weight is identical, the action is great and all the hardware is good quality. If I understood the guy correctly he had this in stock since 1998 which makes it at least 10 years old.

The fretboard is really well done as are the inlays, some might complain that the metal parts have oxidised slightly, but actually for me it makes it look vintage evan though it has never been played.

Anyway, I always wanted a Goldtop and could never really qualify the expense as I already had a Les Paul, so at $200 this was a bargain. One VERY happy guitar guy here with a new baby! I can't wait to get this down the studio and get it cranked up.