I hit upon a lucky eBay find, and managed to acquire a mid-1990's Korean-made Epiphone Howard Roberts for a great price.  It's a terrific jazz box, and is really fun to play.  As with many older guitars, the frets were tarnished and dull, so I decided to polish them using the Dremel tech... read more →

Soon after buying my Breedlove acoustic guitar, I decided to buy a clip-on tuner.  There are many clip-on tuners available at all price ranges, and they all basically work the same way.  They pick up the vibration of the strings through the guitar body and neck, and display the current pit... read more →

I used a Boss BF-2 flanger pedal for years.  It’s a great pedal, especially if you can find one of the older Japanese-made models.  But it could never really do that over-the-top sound from Van Halen’s Unchained.  Eddie used an older MXR flanger pedal on that classic riff, and Dun... read more →

When I got my new Breedlove guitar last year, I ordered my usual set of Thomastik-Infeld strings from JustStrings.com (my favorite place to buy strings). Unfortunately, the brand that works so well on my electrics and older acoustics didn’t sound right at all on the Breedlove. The normally soft an... read more →

My Guitar Rigs [guitarrig1987, guitarrig2001, guitarrig1992] I put this rig together over several years, culminating around 2001. I was considering a new half-stack or combo amp, but couldn't find the right combo of preamp, reverb, and speakers, so I cobbled together some racks to suit my taste... read more →

For the past few months, I've been looking for a nice-sounding concert-sized acoustic guitar. I have a fine Takamine Dreadnought, but the size is uncomfortably large for me to have in my lap while I practice on the sofa. I played a lot of guitars, but was stunned to discover the value and quali... read more →

I decided to shop around for a lightweight guitar amp, and the Roland CUBE 30X hit the sweet spot perfectly. Very affordable at under $250, the amp has a 10" speaker, the usual BOSS/Roland COSM amp modeling system, and weighs just under 20 lbs. The only downside to the amp is an issue common t... read more →

After neglecting my Takamine acoustic guitar for a few years, the frets became tarnished and dull. Many guitarists would recommend rubbing steel wool against the frets to polish them up, but that's a fairly barbaric way to treat an axe. Not only will it booger up a nicely finished fretboard, b... read more →

If you're in to the Tube Screamer sound for your guitar playing, the bargain pedal from Ibanez is the Tone Lok TS7. At around 40 bucks, it has the same circuit and IC as the more expensive $100 TS9 Tube Screamer and the ridiculous $170 TS808 "Tube Screamer Reissue." (I'm personal... read more →

I went to the Steve Vai show at the Fillmore last night. Most self-respecting guitarists can't pass up the chance to see the spectacle that is Steve Vai. And a guitar spectacle is was, but not just from Vai. As the roadie crew was setting up the stage after the opening act, a tall, lanky, cowb... read more →

I received a much-coveted MXR EVH 90 Phase Shifter pedal as a birthday gift. Wow, this pedal really rocks! You can totally get the Van Halen Atomic Punk sound, as well as crank up more modern "spacey" phase shifting. And more, the phasing is so clean that I've decided I can use thi... read more →

My Guitar Rigs [guitarrig1987, guitarrig2001, guitarrig1992] Here is my first guitar rig. I put together this collection of guitar stuff when I first started playing guitar, around 1986, and had the complete set in 1987. I still have the original amp and guitar, though all of the pedals were stole... read more →

Caught this on http://www.Fark.com Joe Satriani is letting fans listen to his entire new album Super Colossal on his web site. Even better, Satch introduces each song himself, talking about tech and creative aspects. Like Charlie Hunter, Satch is yet another musician who seems to really understan... read more →

My Guitar Rigs [guitarrig1987, guitarrig2001, guitarrig1992] I've had three main guitar rigs since I started playing guitar as a teenager. Here is my rig circa 1991-1992, when I was the rhythm guitarist in the seminal Hayward band, Mystic Rage. I no longer have any of this rig - I sold the lot... read more →

Charlie Hunter's rockin' new album Copperopolis came out a few weeks ago. We saw him perform the new stuff at his annual x-mas gig at Yoshi's, and it's a fun departure from his recent jazzy albums. Hunter has a long history of offering free downloads of his live performances, and n... read more →

I have two acoustic guitars, a Martin Backpacker and a Takamine G330 dreadnought. I like both guitars a lot, but I'm looking for something a little easier to play, and more versatile and durable as an "everyday guitar." The Martin Backpacker is a cool little guitar. It even sounds l... read more →

If you're a guitar fan, you're probably a fan of Joe Satriani. And if you're not, well, you will be after listening to Joe's latest album, Is There Love In Space? This album is a dangerous one to listen to while driving. Things get started quickly and funky with Gnaahh, then the f... read more →