New El Toro Guitar Pack Introduced By Behringer: Complete pack includes guitar, modeling amp, tuner and other accessories. Whatever happened to that USB guitar they were bringing out?

Police guitarist visits city: Andy Summers is in Norwich promoting his autobiography, One Train Later.

Hendrix family disputes song sale: The family of late rock musician Jimi Hendrix has threatened to take legal action over a $15m (£7.9m) sale of some of his best-known songs.

Can guitarist Michael Karoli dies unexpectedly at the age of 53
Edit: Apologies to everyone. This is an OLD news story. I've no idea why my news source gave me this as supposedly being current.

Stewart Copeland: Guitar Fan?: Legendary drummer/composer talks about his new film, his old band and guitars! (And who else remembers his alter-ego from the early 1980s, Klark Kent?)

My guitar...: a bunch of rockers share stories of their most prized possessions.

Sting wins with lute 'pop songs': Rock singer Sting has made a big impact in the charts with an album of 16th century lute music.

Dan Armstrong - The Man and his Guitars

Regular readers will know of my fondness of plexiglass guitars (see my Sanox Sound Creator "Strat", for example). Dan Armstrong - The Man and his Guitars is a fascinating and detailed website all about the original see-through guitars and their creator. (Via The Fretboard Journal Blog)

Bands drive up guitar sales: Sales of guitars in the UK have reached an all-time high with £110 million being spent on guitars in 2005.

Far North guitars to the world: Ten guitars created by a New Zealand guitar maker have inspired an ambitious plan to put 10,000 guitars, likely to be made in the Far North, into the hands of children around the world.

French exhibition highlights guitar heroes: There's a whole bunch of famous-name guitars and audio-visuals celebrating the guitar, over at the at the Cite de la Musique in Paris. The exhibition runs until 14 January 2007.

Suddenly, everyone wants to play guitar: Sales of guitars have trebled in Northern Ireland, reports the Belfast Telegraph.

Guitar Buyer Magazine interviews the legendary Les Paul

Strat-O-Blogster Guitar Blog: I can't believe I haven't already recommended this self-proclaimed "world's most ridiculous guitar blog". Check it out, it's a good read!

stolen guitars .org | database of stolen guitars: Further to my last post, if you are unfortunate enough to be the victim of theft, it can't harm to register your stolen guitars here. Websites like this are a great idea.

Please be on the lookout for some stolen Flying V guitars, ripped off from a guy called Roger Bleck. Here are the details in his own words:

Due to a theft that happened last week, it doesn't look like I'll be recording for a while.... My recorder & 6 of my guitars were stolen.... People get what they deserve, I'm counting on that.... I try to be a good person, so I believe that in the long run, good things will happen to me.... People thet set out to do evil, well, I hope they get what's coming to them....
I know it's a long shot, but if anyone hears of the following items out there, let me know, they're mine...

- #229 Medallion Gibson Flying V, cream-colored
- ESP Gibson-style block marker Flying V, white
- 1975 LE oval-serial# Gibson Flying V, natural finish
- 1989 '67 re-issue Flying V, w/ a custom neck (no serial#), white
- 2001 Faded Red Gibson Flying V, w/ crescent-moon inlays
- 1970's Ibanez Flying V, bolt-on neck, cherry finish
- Fostex VF80EX-8 multitrack recorder

If you do see some suspect guitars for sale and want to compare them, check out the pics on Roger's MySpace page. Please feel free to copy this post. Thanks, and keep 'em peeled!

The Epiphone Guitars interview with Twisted Sister's Jay Jay French

Guitar-Gear Blog: a great blog for the gadget-obsessed guitarist!

Custom ESP Guitars for Tomi Koivusaari and Esa Holopainen of Amorphis (another metal band from Finland, in case you didn't know).

Volkswagen Cars To Feature First Act Guitars: Drivers in the USA who buy or lease specialized versions of six VW cars (Jetta, Jetta GLI, GTI, Rabbit, New Beetle and New Beetle Convertible) will be handed a First Act GarageMaster electric guitar, playable through the car's stereo system. Each axe will feature the VW logo, will display its corresponding car's vehicle identification number and be fitted with coloured pick guards matching the exterior of the car.

[Pictured right: Dweezil Zappa demonstrates the First Act GarageMaster]

Counterfeit Guitars Swarm Auction Sites: wise words from guitarsite.com.

I've more or less given up checking the eBay guitar listings because there are so many fake auctions and counterfeits on there. When I tried selling a Fernandes guitar earlier in the year, the auction was hijacked by a Taiwanese "seller" up to eight times. I was able to change my photos to include a wanring message and my real details on each image, and as the hijacker had just copied my text and image references wholesale, the doctored images showed up in his sale too!

So, my tip for sellers is to superimpose your eBay ID and email address onto each image you use to discourage it being copied.

Incidentally, the Fernandes eventually went for a ridiculously low price. I'm sure that buyers were put off by the confusion.

EBAY - ISN'T IT ABOUT TIME YOU GOT YOUR ACT TOGETHER?

Up for auction: Elvis Presley's 1958 Isana Black Pearl Acoustic Guitar

Dallas-based "Heritage Auction Galleries" plans to auction a 1958 Isana Black Pearl Acoustic guitar once owned by Elvis. The guitar was purchased during his stint in the army. "Heritage" says it was one of less than 150 made that year and is believed to be the only guitar used by him while in the service. Years later it passed into the hands of friends and was eventually used to pay for tutoring fees by one of Elvis' secretaries. It's been on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, and at the Rock N Soul Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, for the past two years. Heritage Auction Galleries will hold their upcoming Signature auction on October 6 & 7, 2006, at their headquarters in Dallas, TX. The reserve amount is $150,000.

Building the Ergonomic Guitar: This is a fascinating blog written by Robert Irizarry, a Repetitive Strain Injury sufferes, in his quest to build the perfect ergonomic guitar.