guitarz.blogspot.com: Latvis sent the above photo and comments that: "I know that John Mayall has many modified and odd shaped guitars. [In] 1990 he played this one at Kuusrock Festival here in Finland."
Indeed, John Mayall does seem to favour Strat-type guitars (in the above instance it's a Fernandes) with the body chopped down to the bare minimum. Quite why he likes such tiny-bodied guitars is anyone's guess. Perhaps it has something to do with the way he slings the guitar strap over his right shoulder?
G L Wilson
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
guitarz.blogspot.com: I'm not sure if you've ever heard of the band Teddybears STHLM, or as they are nowadays known as The Teddybears. It's a Swedish band starting out as a hardcore/grindcore band back in the early 90s, but have since then changed their music in a completely different direction. Nowadays they are a lot more electro-influenced, etc, and outside of Sweden they are probably most know for their songs featured in Heineken beer commercials and such, or that they have been working with Iggy Pop a bit.
Anyways, Last night I went to one of their shows in Malmö, Sweden, and I just couldn't happen to notice the two guitars they were playing during the show. One of the guitars was a double neck (Bass+Guitar), and the other one a bass, and they were both wearing the Gibson headstock and logo.
One thing that I noticed was that the "guitar neck" of the double neck had the famous "SG" stamped on the truss rod cover.
Another very obvious thing about these guitars and basses is that they have the bo diddley-shoe box shaped bodies, with a mirror/disco ball finish.
I've tried to contact them via emails and telephone, but I've not gotten any response from them.
Anyways, I know the music is not really for everybody, but their shows are awesome, and I think you should check them out.
Well, I hope I've given you something that you'd might feature on the blog. If you don't find the info I've given you so far blog-worthy enough, I would suggest that you would check them out further. I've been to a few of their shows, and they are always improving more and more.
Sorry to bother you! Take care, and thank you tons and tons for this great blog!
Pelle Rydstern
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
Has anyone out there heard of Alamo guitars? I'm guessing these are from the 1960s.
This example is a very crude looking, mis-shapen affair, and at first I thought it must be early Japanese. However - and you can't quite make this out in the above photo, but trust me - the trussrod cover bears the legend "Made in USA". The pickguard with cut-out lettering/design (I'm not sure what it's supposed to be) is an intriguing touch.
This guitar together with a recently overhauled Alamo Capri tube amp recently failed to sell on eBay with a starting price of $649. Probably a bit steep for curios such as these, even if they are rare. Rare doesn't necessarily equal desireable. If you're interested in buying, keep checking eBay, I expect it will be re-listed.
Bertram is currently travelling and does not have internet access, but he wanted me to show you guys this intriguing Millenium lightweight aluminium-bodied guitar which features built-in Boss T-wah effects circuitry. Effects are engaged with a patent pending wrist-actuated switch, supposedly providing for quicker and smoother control than a foot-actuated pedal.
The body is arcraft-grade indestructible aluminium and is married to a hand-made mahogany neck with African ebony fingerboard and equipped with LSR lightweight locking tuners. The guitar weighs 7 lbs.
All in all, it's a very fitting guitar to show you on this, our 8th birthday!
G L Wilson (on behalf of Bertram)
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
guitarz.blogspot.com: Here's another delightfully eccentric hand-made bass from Steve Wishnevsky, a.k.a. Wish Bass. This unique, one-off fan-fretted bass is called the Holy Lobe Bass and is currently up for grabs on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $500. The through neck is made from laminates of mahogany, purpleheart and maple, and the body is of wild cherry. As on other Wishbasses, there is no trussrod. It also features a Kent Armstrong humbucker, and the controls are basic being just limited to just a single volume.
G L Wilson
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
We've looked at a Greco Tusk with an Explorer/Star-shaped body before, and here's another from the Tusk series with Randy Rhodes-esque V-style body.
Ken Shima, who found this guitar on the Yahoo Japan auction site, comments "totally awesome tuners, how do they work?"
Well, I think it's effectively a headless system with the tuners on the bridge, while the three "tuners" on the headstock are actually just string clamps.
G L Wilson
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
guitarz.blogspot.com: Dewey Decibel's FlipOut guitar puts a whole new perspective on the term "reverse body" as used by the likes of Gibson.
Yes, I have blogged about this guitar a long time ago, but I've not shown a photo of one before and haven't seen one on eBay such as this example currently being offered for sale.
This guitar, which is no longer in production, muse surely rank alongside Brian Eastwood's Bender Distortocaster as a novelty "double-take" version of the Stratocaster.
G L Wilson
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
Artist: Steve Vai Album: Real Illusions: Reflections Year: 2005 Genre: Guitar Virtuoso, Guitar Instrumental Format: VBR 320 kbps mp3 Tracklist: 1. Building The Church (4:58) 2. Dying For Your Love (4:51) 3. Glorious (4:35) 4. K'm-Pee-Du-Wee (4:00) 5. Firewall (4:19) 6. Freak Show Excess (6:51) 7. Lotus Feet (6:45) 8. Yai Yai (2:38) 9. Midway Creatures (3:42) 10. I'm Your Secrets (4:27) 11. Under It All (8:08) Download#1 Download#2 Download#3
Artist: Steve Vai Album: Passion And Warfare Year: 1990 Genre: Guitar Rock, Guitar Virtuoso Tracklist: 1. Liberty (2:03) 2. Erotic Nightmares (4:15) 3. The Animal (4:01) 4. Answers (2:56) 5. The Riddle (6:25) 6. Ballerina 12/24 (1:43) 7. For The Love Of God (6:04) 8. The Audience Is Listening (5:30) 9. I Would Love To (3:41) 10. Blu Powder (4:45) 11. Greasy Kid's Stuff (2:58) 12. Alien Water Kiss (1:10) 13. Sister (4:08) 14. Love Secrets (3:38)
The second solo album from Steve Vai shows the guitarist coming into his own as a composer, matching his prodigious talent as a performer. The result is an entertaining mix. The hilarious "Audience is Listening" complements more reflective pieces such as "For the Love of God." The high-powered "Animal" and "Greasy Kid's Stuff" are balanced by "Blue Powder" and "Alien Water Kiss." Unlike most guitar-god solo recordings, Passion & Warfare avoids the sort of technical noodling that is uninteresting to everyone except other guitarists, opting instead for a collection of high-quality music that is full of compositional experimentation without ever getting out of control. --Genevieve Williams
guitarz.blogspot.com: Whilst we're on a lap steel kick at the moment, I can't help showing you this utterly gorgeous Recording King Model D from 1939 currently being offered for sale on eBay. I particularly like the pear-shaped body, which has a mandolin-quality to the design.
Recording King was a brand name used by American department store Montgomery Ward's in the 1930s, with instruments being made by Gibson.
The brand name has since been revived by San Francisco-based AXL.
G L Wilson
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
Artist: Uli Jon Roth Album: Metamorphosis Year: 2003 Genre: Guitar Legend, Rock Format: 320 kbps mp3 Tracklist: 1. Prelude To The Seasons (1:44) 2. Venga La Primavera (3:27) 3. April Rain (2:24) 4. The Triumph Of Spring (3:59) 5. Tales Of The Summer Wind (4:58) 6. Thunder In July (1:33) 7. Tuona e Fulmina (3:20) 8. Cheiron And Selenos (4:41) 9. Teardrops In October (2:01) 10. Artemis (3:13) 11. Ice, Wind and Fire (3:14) 12. Sleighbells At Yasnaya (2:10) 13. War Of The Winds (2:55) 14. Thunder Cadenza (1:25) 15. Cry Of The Night (2:28) 16. Summer's Breath (0:42) 17. Rodeo From Hell (0:57) 18. Les Adieux (1:26) 19. Springtime Euphoria (2:11) 20. The Heart Of Chopin (2:17) 21. Dance Of The Water Spirits (0:45) 22. Transfiguration (1:18) 23. Venga La Vita (2:08) 24. The Morning Of Forever (2:54) Download#1 Download#2 Download#3
Artist: Uli Jon Roth Album: Under a Dark Sky Year: 2008 Genre: Guitar Legend, Rock Format: 320 kbps mp3 Tracklist: 1. S.O.S. (4:09) 2. Tempus Fugit (2:32) 3. Land Of Dawn:Techno Man (2:26) 4. Land Of Dawn (3:35) 5. Land Of Dawn:Lion Wings (5:06) 6. The Magic Word (6:11) 7. Inquisition (1:08) 8. Letter Of The Law (3:03) 9. Stay In The Light (6:30) 10. Benediction (3:45) 11. Light And Shadows (6:13) 12. Tanz In Die Dammerung:Destination Twilight (1:52) 13. Tanz In Die Dammerung:Morgenrot (0:48) 14. Tanz In Die Dammerung:Searchlights From Hell (1:14) 15. Tanz In Die Dammerung:Seelenschmerz (1:47) 16. Tanz In Die Dammerung:Inside The Titanic (1:13) 17. Tanz In Die Dammerung:Fama Errat (1:40) 18. Tanz In Die Dammerung:Requiem For The Nations (1:52) 19. Tanz In Die Dammerung:Morituri (2:06) 20. Tanz In Die Dammerung:Rex Tremendae (2:28) 21. Tanz In Die Dammerung:Star Peace (2:18) 22. Tanz In Die Dammerung (1:34) 23. Tanz In Die Dammerung:Silence Download#1 Download#2 Download#3
guitarz.blogspot.com: I don't know why we don't feature more lap steels on this blog, because some of the designs are really out there! This very distinctive one-off lap steel bearing the "Juju" name has been built around a huge slab of lacewood. As you can see the lacewood slab, although polished up, has been left in a rustic state showing the beauty of the wood.
Very strangely for a lap steel, the fingerboard seems to have actual frets rather than simple visual markers.
G L Wilson
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
Artist: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci Album: G3 - Live In Tokyo Year: 2005 Genre: Guitar Virtuoso, Guitar Instrumental Tracklist: 1. Glasgow Kiss (9:18) 2. Damage Control (10:31) 3. The Audience is Listening (8:59) 4. Building the Church (6:09) 5. Km-Pee-Du-Wee (6:44) 6. Up in Flames (8:56) 7. Searching (8:44) 8. War (6:37) 9. Foxey Lady (10:43) 10. La Grange (9:18) 11. Smoke on the Water (10:01) Download#1
Artist: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen Album: G3 - Live In Concert Year: 2004 Genre: Guitar Virtuoso, Guitar Instrumental Tracklist: CD1: Joe Satriani 1. The Extremist (3:51) 2. Crystal Planet (4:41) 3. Always With Me, Always With You (4:16) 4. Midnight (3:05) 5. The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing (5:32) Steve Vai 6. You Are Here (3:33) 7. Reaping (7:05) 8. Whispering A Prayer (9:27) Yngwie Malmsteen 9. Blitzkrieg (2:48) 10. Trilogy Suite (8:07) 11. Red House (4:25) 12. Fugue (3:37) 13. Finale (2:54) CD2 (G3 Jam): 1. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (10:46) 2. Little Wing (6:08) 3. Rockin' In The Free World (12:31) Download#1
Artist: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson Album: G3 - Live In Concert Year: 1997 Genre: Guitar Virtuoso, Guitar Instrumental Format: 256 kbps mp3 Tracklist: 1. Joe Satriani - Cool #9 (6:46) 2. Joe Satriani - Flying In A Blue Dream (5:59) 3. Joe Satriani - Summer Song (6:30) 4. Eric Johnson - Zap (6:06) 5. Eric Johnson - Manhattan (5:16) 6. Eric Johnson - Camel's Night Out (5:57) 7. Steve Vai - Answers (6:58) 8. Steve Vai - For The Love Of God (7:47) 9. Steve Vai - The Attitude Song (5:16) 10. Going Down (5:47) 11. My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama (5:21) 12. Red House (9:12) Download#1
Francisco Tárrega lahir pada tanggal 21 November, 1852 Villarreal, Castaleon Spanyol. Ayah Francisco adalah seorang gitaris flamenco. Kedua guru musik pertamanya adalah Eugeni Ruiz dan Manuel González. Pada 1862, bertemu dengan Julián Arcas sewaktu tur di Castellón dan mendengar permainan Tárrega dan menyarankan ayah Tárrega untuk belajar dengannya di Barcelona. Ayah Tárrega setuju, dengan syarat Tarrega juga harus belajar piano. Karena kesibukan Julian Arcas untuk konser ke luar negeri, proses belajar Tarrega terhenti dan ia mencoba memulai karier sebagai musisi restoren dan kedai kopi di Barcelona. Dia kembali dijemput ayahnya untuk kembali ke Castaleon. Tahun 1865 ia kembali meninggalkan rumah untuk berkarier di Valencia dan bergabung dengan sebuah geng Gipsi, tetapi ayahnya kembali menjemputnya untuk kembali ke rumah. Semenjak muda Tarrega sudah menguasai Gitar dan Piano dan tahun 1874 Tarrega belajar di Madrid Konservatorium. Disana ia membeli gitar-gitar baru buatan Antonio de Torres dan belajar musik dan komposisi dibawah bimbingan Emilio Arrieta dan akhirnya ia lebih fokus untuk belajar Gitar dan meninggalkan gagasan karier sebagai Pianis. Pengetahuan Komposisi juga ia dapatkan dari Tomas Damas.Tahun 1870, Tarrega sudah menjadi Guru Gitar dan disana ia banyak sekali mengajar murid-muridnya antara lain : Miguel Llobet, Emilio Pujol dan Daniel Fortea dan secara tidak formal Andres Segovia juga mendapat pengarahan dari Tarrega. Setelah itu konser-konser biasa yang ia berikan mendapat banyak pujian dari banyak orang. Selain memainkan komposisi lama, Tarrega mulai membuat karya baru untuk gitar.
Tahun 1880 sewaktu konser di Novelda ia bertemu dengan Maria Jose Rizo yang ditahun 1882 dinikahinya. Karena pada masa itu Piano sangat terkenal dan banyak Komposisi piano digemari orang, mendorong Tarrega untuk menulis ulang Komposisi Piano menjadi Komposisi Gitar (Transcription). Karya Betthoven, Chopin, Mendelssohn. Tahun 1885 ia menetap di Barcelona bersama istrinya dan memiliki 3 orang anak serta berteman dengan musisi Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Granados, Jaoquin Turina dan Pablo Casals
Semasa hidupnya Tarrega banyak menulis kompisisi Gitar baik untuk Study maupun untuk Konser, lebih 70 komposisi original dan 120 komposisi Transcript dibuatnya. Karya Tarrega yang terkenal antara lain : Recuerdos de la Alhambra, Capricho Arabe, Adelita, Grand Jota, Danza Mora, Gran Vals, dll. Januari 1906, ia menderita kelumpuhan di sisi kanan, dan meskipun ia akhirnya akan kembali ke panggung konser, ia tidak pernah benar-benar pulih. Tanggal 2 December 1909, ia menyelesaikan karya terakhirnya, Oremus Dia meninggal di Barcelona pada tanggal 15 Desember 1906, pada usia 57 tahun.
Tárrega dianggap telah meletakkan dasar-dasar untuk gitar klasik abad ke-20 dan untuk meningkatkan minat pada gitar sebagai instrumen resital. Beberapa orang percaya karena ia bermain tanpa kuku yang diperlukan untuk volume, yang lain mengatakan ini adalah yang berkaitan dengan trauma masa kecilnya karena dipaksa bemain piano. Andres Segovia yang menggunakan kuku dan daging pernah ditanyakan mengenai hal itu dan ia menjawab "Ini benar-benar bodoh", anda mengurangi volume gitar dan menghilangkan warna nada cirikhas gitar.
Check this astonishing handmade lap steel guitar - a creative and nice piece of craftsmanship, isn't it?
Though it pioneered the electrification of musical instruments in the early 1930s, lap steel guitar seems a conservative instrument because of the musical genres it's associated with - country, blue grass and old school blues (though it was created firstly to play hawaiian music if I'm not wrong) - so it might be surprising to see one with a elaborated design where usually you find rough simplicity.
This one has a Duesenberg multibender, a wooden P90 pickup, and a chambered body providing a richer sound than lap steel guitars often reduced to a neck. Usually I like chicken head knobs, but here they don't match - some art deco Duesenberg ones would fit better!
I talked about the Daion 555 Headhunter a few weeks ago (when I found one on a flea market but couldn't afford to buy it [sob]), and I'm happy to have the opportunity to show one today.
Not easy to have much information about Daion, a late 70s Japanese-Texan brand that produced apparently good guitars but didn't last very long - they stopped in 1984 - and didn't leave much information. All this starts to give them some kind of cult status (also the fact that they have cool designs and are not mere copies people expected from Japanese guitars in these times), and I have to admit that I was quite impressed when I saw a real Headhunter, before I even started to dig the Internet to know more.
I love the back cutaway on a classic ES-335 body, and the unusual bridge on a semi-hollow!
The readers of this blog might have noticed that I really don't like stratocasters, but I do like paisley and black and even more black paisley so I like the black paisley finish of this limited edition 1997 made in Japan Fender Stratocaster.
I could tell about the pickups, the pickguard or the tremolo, but this is still a summer post, so I can be so frivolous that all I care about is the finish (also after a few months of research, my girlfriend finally found for me a pair of paisley shirts - an exploit in Berlin - so I felt like celebrating!)
The Gretsch Historic G3156 Streamliner is not Gretsch's most famous hollow body but its discretion is part of its elegance - and the cat's eye sound-holes are beautiful. It's a guitar that doesn't to belong to any musical style, neither with the look or the sound (based on the reviews I read), with its typically Gretsch fat single coils that sound like nothing else.
Antonio Cano (1811 - 1897) adalah seorang Gitaris, Guru dan Komposer Gitar. A.Cano adalah salah seorang murid Dionisio Aguado yang awal karier yang sebagai Gitaris dan kemudian mengajar di Konservatori di Madrid. Ia juga musisi kerajaan yang penting dimasa pemerintahan Ratu Isabella II. Salah satu hasil karya Antonio Cano yang terkenal adalah "Metodo de Guitarra" yang diterbitkan pada tahun 1852 dan kembali dicetak ulang tahun 1868. Kita semua sangat beruntung karena buku karyanya dapat kita nikmati hingga saat ini, karena banyak sekali dipakai oleh sekolah musik diseluruh dunia. Ada kabar bahwa A Cano lah yang memberikan pelajaran Gitar kepada Fransisco Tarrega dan memberikan kontribusi penting dalam pengembangan teknik Tremolo.
Banyak karya Antonio cano yang masih dimainkan oleh Gitaris di dunia ini antara lain ; Etude in Am, Andantino in G, El Delirio, Ejercicio, Valse dll.
Estudio No.7 (Andantino in G) - Antonio Cano
El Delirio - Antonio Cano (Study-Arpeggio & Tremolo)
I have a "Born To Rock" 6 string guitar with a clear lucite neck, these are rare as they moved to aluminum necks fairly quickly. It is serial #10 and I have had it since the mid 90's and have only played it a few times so lets just say it in excellent condition.
I'm looking to sell it... Any takers?
blues145j@yahoo.com
Now, I'm not going to make a habit of this - that is advertising guitars for sale for each and every person that leaves such a comment or emails me, but as this was such an unusual specimin I thought I'd make an exception.
If anyone is interested in buying this guitar, please do not email me nor leave an offer in the comments - please email the owner directly.
G L Wilson Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
Not a weirdo, not a one-off, not a rarity, not a vintage guitar, just a Rickenbacker 330/12 - because I love Rickies, 12-string guitars and white finish with a black pickguard...
It's both classic and surprising with its unique crescent moon double cutaway, the famous R-shaped stoptail, the 3+3+3+3 headstock and the trade mark slash soundhole. Though it's been played by the greatests, it kept un-hackneyed over the last 50 years.
It's my birthday-and-half today, I will heartily accept this guitar as a present.
Artist: Steve Vai Album: Live At The Astoria London Year: 2004 Genre: Guitar Virtuoso, Instrumental Rock, Guitar Instrumental Format: 320 kbps mp3 Tracklist (2 CD): 01 - Shyboy (5:12) 02 - Giant Balls Of Gold (8:41) 03 - Erotic Nightmares (4:22) 04 - Blood And Glory (4:58) 05 - Dave's Party Piece (1:40) 06 - Blue Powder (7:10) 07 - The Crying Machine (4:36) 08 - The Animal (7:26) 09 - Bangkok (3:41) 10 - Tony's Solo (6:18) 11 - Bad Horsie (8:25) 12 - Chameleon (4:21) 13 - Down Deep Into The Pain (4:36)
01 - Fire (6:04) 02 - Little Wing (4:59) 03 - Whispering A Prayer (9:03) 04 - Incantation (with drum so (10:58) 05 - Jibboom (10:55) 06 - For The Love Of God (12:21) 07 - Liberty (2:08) 08 - The Attitude Song (11:31)
This SG 200 looks like a Byelorussian copy from the 70s cut with a chainsaw, painted with tractor oil and mounted with the left-overs of an old WWII Red Army radio found in a barn under two barrels of smuggled vodka - then played for 15 years by a Soviet underground hard-rock band covering Black Sabbath and Motörhead, and finally abandoned in 1991 when its owner emigrated to Israel and managed to buy a real Epiphone, until some Ukrainian eBay seller realized that vintage guitars are valuable also in eastern Europe and revived it.
Well it's nothing of this, it's a real Gibson from 1972, a short-lived down-graded version of the SG from a time when Gibson was loosing control! It has a bigger than standard SG maple body, simplified bridge and controls, and two single-coil pickups, and it looks wild, though it is usually considered as total junk and isn't so far a collectible guitar.
guitarz.blogspot.com: Here is a limited issue Billy Zoom tribute edition of the classic Gretsch Silver Jet. Zoom was guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles band X. Zoom's own original guitar was put through a medical CAT scan by Gretsch and analysed so that this Tribute edition could be built in Gretsch's USA custom shop as closely as possible to the original. The G6129-BZT features a chambered body, pearloid banjo buttons on the Grover tuners, Bigsby B12 tailpiece, Seymour Duncan DynaSonic pickups, Synchro-Sonic bridge, and distressed finish and hardware.
This post is for Allison... Happy Birthday!
G L Wilson
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
Artist: Steve Vai Album: Fire Garden Year: 1999 Genre: Guitar Virtuoso, Guitar Instrumental Format: vbr 320 kbps mp3 Tracklist:
1. There's A Fire In The House (5:27) 2. The Crying Machine (4:51) 3. Dyin' Day (4:30) 4. Whookam (0:36) 5. Blowfish (4:04) 6. The Mysterious Murder Of Christian Tiera's Lover (1:02) 7. Hand On Heart (5:25) 8. Bangkok (2:46) 9. Fire Garden Suite: Bull Whip, Pusa Road, Angel Food, Taurus Bulba (9:56) 10. Deepness (0:48) 11. Little Alligator (6:13) 12. All About Eve (4:38) 13. Aching Hunger (4:45) 14. Brother (5:04) 15. Damn You (4:31) 16. When I Was A Little Boy (1:18) 17. Genocide (4:12) 18. Warm Regards (4:07)
Artist: Steve Vai Album: Flexable Leftovers Year: 1998 (re-release) Genre: Guitar Virtuoso, Experimental Rock, Rock Format: vbr 320 kbps mp3 Tracklist: 1. #?@! Yourself (8:30) 2. So Happy (2:46) 3. Bledsoe Bluvd (4:24) 4. Natural Born Boy (3:36) 5. Details At 10 (6:00) 6. Massacre (3:27) 7. Burnin' Down The Mountain (4:23) 8. Little Pieces Of Seaweed (5:14) 9. San Sebastian (1:10) 10. The Beast Of Love (3:32) 11. You Didn't Break It (4:21) 12. The X-Equalibrium Dance (5:14) 13. Chronic Insomnia (2:03)
It's a real shame that so many people don't appreciate GOOD musicwhen they hear it, and have the sort of attitude like, " (I) don't like it, so that means it (#$%@)". Well, whatever. I'm not gonna go off like other people, telling you that you SHOULD like this record. I mean, it's perfectly alright if don't you dig this, but it ISN'T alright if you start badmouthing the quality and musical merit of it. The material on this album is actually really good, and really CREATIVE. The reason i would more respect for than say, "Alien Love Secrets", is that it showcases Mr. Vai's talents in more areas than just on the guitar (although some of the more inspired guitar i have ever heard from shows up on a couple of tracks on this disc). Perhaps a track-by-track overview of the album would help give a better impression of what one can expect to hear:
1.#$%@ Yourself - funky, and freakin' hilarious. This is one of the album's vocal-led tracks, containing some very, very humourous lyrics. Personally, this is one of my least favourates on the album, because while the lyrics WILL have you on the ground in hysterics, the words just aren't backed up by all that great of music. But, if you hang on till the end, theres quite a nice extended gtr. solo that should fulfill those wanting to hear some grade A shredding. This track is the reason for the "explicit lyrics" labeling.
2. So Happy - This one also falls under the freakin' hilarious category. Here's roughly the story of what this track is all about: basically, Steve got this chick to go off on an improvised rant about how happy she is, and then transcribed the pitch of her voice and doubled it on guitar. This is the kind of thing that doesn't lend itself very well to repeated listening, but each time you listen, and suddenly hear that guitar come in, you can't help but marvel at how cool of an idea it was.
3. Bledsoe Bluvd. - instrumental. No, not a guitar instrumental, but this is a rather nice track, showcasing Steve's talents as an all around composer.
4.Natural Born Boy - Instrumental. Yes, a guitar instrumental, containing one of the coolest riffs ever. I KNOW you'll like at LEAST this one.
5.Details At 10 - a vocal-led track that would probably also fall under the freakin' hilarious category. You'll like it.
6. Massacre - Another one of the coolest riffs ever, over which Vai messes around with what sounds like a Digetec Whammy pedal. Underlined by technoy drum machine beat (don't let throw you off).
7. Burnin' Down the Mountain - acoustic instrumental. Apperently this was just improvised while sitting on the roof of the studio with a few other people who were there for the album sessions. It's got kind of a nice little melody, but it's a very personal track, for Steve, and the others who made it; it really should've been left off the album.
8. Little Pieces of Seaweed - Holy *&%#! Where to start... I personally love this track, cuz i'm just really into the weird and quirky, but it's understandable if you aren't able to fully understand this; it IS quite a bit to take in at once. Everyone HAS to hear this track at least ONCE. Thats all i'll say.
9. San Sebastian - Elevator music-y instrumental that again, showcases his Zappa-like compositional talents.
10. Beast of Love - vocal track. Rather mundane I think. it doesn't really go anywhere.
11. You Didn't Break It - cheesy pop song ( like the "Boy/Girl Song" on Flex-Able). You won't be blown away by anything, but it IS a pretty catchy tune.
12. The X-Equilibrium Dance - Instrumental that sorta goes all over the place. Doesn't really have what one would call a melody. Still kind of an interesting track, though.
13. Chronic Insomnia - Not a track your going to listen to more than once, it's just a recording of Steve doing a bunch crazy whammy bar dives that was put into reverse. Kinda cool to see what sounds it's possible to make on a guitar, but there isn't any kind of MELODY here for you to keep coming back to.
Whew! Now that you have read THAT, i'm sure you'll have a better idea of whether this record is right for YOU or not.Thanks, the Duke of Dunbar Download#1 Download#2 Download#3
Artist: Steve Vai Album: Flexable Year: 1984 Genre: Avant-Garde, Guitar Virtuoso, Guitar Instrumental Format: 192 kbps mp3 Tracklist: 1. Little Green Men (5:36) 2. Viv Woman (3:07) 3. Lovers Are Crazy (5:37) 4. Salamanders In The Sun (2:25) 5. The Boy/Girl Song (4:00) 6. The Attitude Song (3:21) 7. call It Sleep (5:06) 8. Junkie (7:19) 9. Bill's Private Parts (0:16) 10. Next Step Earth (0:34) 11. There's Something Dead In Here (3:52)
I love it! Flexable contains Vai in his most Raw form. It's fantastic. It's also a very good example of his song writing abilities and orchestration. Some of Vai's best material is on this CD. Virtually all of Flexable was record on a Fender Strat!
"Viv Woman" is one of my favourite Vai songs. This album also contains "The Attitude Song", which is a fabulous guitar song. The first song "Little Green Men", contains vocals recorded at half time, and then sped up to fit in time with the music. The result are these chipmunks vocals, very funny.
The third song, "Lovers are Crazy" is a very Zappa inspired song, with Steve on vocals. The next one "Salamanders in the Sun", starts with a simple melody played on a Flute. Elevator music, big time. However, after the chorus and verse, the guitar takes over on the melody. Pure magic. The drums are done entirely on a Linn drum machine. Also, if you listen carefully to the 'chorus' section, there is a hi-hat going at 16th notes in the background. I've got a live version of this song, and the drums are psycho, really heavy. It changes the whole song.
"The Boy/Girl Song". Recently Aphex Twin did a song named exactly this. I haven't heard it, did they steal any melodies off it? It's a very simple vocal-orientated love song. "Corny but cute"
"The Attitude song". Wow... you just have to hear this song. Actually, most of you probably already have, its on the G3 video. This is the song that introduced me to Vai. After hearing it on the G3 video, I bought Flexable and couldn't believe the original version of the song. It's so tight and fresh. An excellent guitar song. I've also got a version of this that Vai recorded first, when he used a drum machine and did a one-take improvisation on the bass. Then he decorated it with guitars. It's very cool.
Vai on "Call it Sleep": "This piece was written when I was in school. It was on the original demo audition tape I sent to Frank Zappa. It was re-recorded at Stucco Blue and now appears on Flexable. The sentiment of this song was inspired by a few friends who, in adolescence, met an unfortunate demise. There's something sad, powerful, mournful and beautiful that touches our hearts in such circumstances. I sought to capture those emotions with 'Call it Sleep.'"
"The basic Carvin (guitar) and the '77 "Sticker" Strat were used. There was an extra feed taken from the guitar that went into the console direct. A small amount of the direct signal is blended in with the distorted signal in the raging section (approximately 12 percent). A larger amount of clean signal is used on the cleaner melody section (about 50 percent). During the mix for this piece, the D.I. guitar was sent back out to a Carvin amp that was cranked up and mic'd for the raging solo section. This was then blended into the distorted sound (about 15 percent). Very little echo was used; no delays. A stereo chorusing FX was used in the mix to slightly widen the melody tone."Flexible vinyl middle circle thingo
You can hear Satriani's famous 'lizard down the neck' technique in this song.
"Junkie". Have you heard "Rescue Me Or Bury Me" from Sex and Religion? Well this is kind of the original version of it. The song it totally different, but it follows the same format. Guitar and vocals at start for about 2 minutes, and then a long solo section that doesn't have any time signature. Chad Wackerman played the drums on it (from Zappa). The solo section contains a good introduction to Vai's very fast technique. Next stop Earth: Part of a huge space opera he was writing called "Alien Love Story". Funny, considering his later album named alien love secrets. This song is a bizarre random melody in a cacophany of harmonization and technique. It's great! Rewieved by:Lach Download#1 Download#2 Download#3
Since an electric cigar box guitar wasn't quite ridiculous enough, I decided I should build myself a double-neck. Thought you might get a kick out of this.
The bottom neck is a 2-string, longneck slide bass (ala Stig Pederson). The custom nut is a hunk of bolt I hacksawed and spray painted. The tailpiece is a chunk of angle iron.
The top neck is a 3-stringer with a low action ... better for me as I do a lot of finger picking (it really is fast ... and for once I even nailed the intonation). Note the fancy-schmancy tailpiece that began its life as a pie spatula.
The homemade necks (steel reinforced ... and rounded with a bastard file) are bolt ons using helicoil inserts and gobs of JB Weld. Oh ... and lets not forget those hand-carved headstocks. Last but not least, in order to take overkill to new heights, I covered the Punch cigar box with a lacewood veneer
I'm thinking my next project may be an electric harp guitar with a 1-gallon oil can for a body.
Great blog ... I check it out most every day.
Ron Marr
Thanks Ron. As ever we are always pleased to receive photos of readers' self-builds. Funnily enough, only last night I was watching a few YouTube clips of The Presidents of the United States of America, a band known for their minimalistic 2- and 3-string guitars (dubbed the basitar and the guitbass respectively). In one clip, Chris Ballew is seen playing a doubleneck basitar/guitbass with a total of 5 strings on it.
G L Wilson
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
Artist: Steve Vai Album: Alive In An Ultra World Year: 1995 Genre: Guitar Virtuoso, Guitar Instrumental Format: 320 kbps mp3 Tracklist (content of 2 CD's): 1. Giant Balls Of Gold (4:45) 2. Burning Rain (4:50) 3. The Black Forest (6:38) 4. Alive In An Ultra World (3:53) 5. Devil's Food (10:10) 6. Blood And Glory (4:53) 7. Whispering A Prayer (8:46) 8. Iberian Jewel (4:39) 9. The Power of Bombos (5:04) 10. Incantation (8:53) 11. Light of The Moon (5:47) 12. Babushka (6:42) 13. Being with You (in Paris) (6:24) 14. Principessa (5:52) 15. Brandos Costumes (Gentle Ways) (6:03) 16. Maple Leafs (2:28) Download#1 Download#2 Download#3
In guitar making, you can endlessly take the same old models and trends and recombine them to do something new. The Xaviere XV-560 is one of these guitars, just a Les Paul-like guitar (with a florentine cutaway), but with a chambered body (mahogany with maple top) and F-holes. The XV-560 is the version with P90s, there is one with humbuckers.
It's not exactly cool - the F-holes don't really fit and Rickenbacker style holes would be probably better, but still it's an interesting guitar, and I'm curious about how it sounds. Xaviere is the guitar brand of GuitarFetish.com, who produce and sell nice gears and electronics; I bought some stuff there - mostly lipstick pickups that fit in a Tele bridge for my last projects - and I'm not unhappy with them.
It's good to show a guitar here that is not over 40 years old, no?
Artist: Steve Vai Album: Alien Love Secrets Year: 1995 Genre: Guitar Virtuoso, Guitar Instrumental Format: vbr 224 kbps mp3 Tracklist: 1. Bad Horsie (5:51) 2. Juice (3:44) 3. Die To Live (3:53) 4. The Boy From Seattle (5:03) 5. Ya-Yo Gakk (2:52) 6. Kill The Guy With The Ball (7:02) 7. Tender Surrender (5:01) 8. San-San-Nana-Byoushi (3:38) Download#1 Download#2 Download#3
Description says, "The body isn't aluminum, it's Basswood"
Ken Shima
Hi Ken
The irony of having a wooden-bodied Talbo is not lost on me, since the name Talbo is derived from Tokai ALuminium BOdy. I am aware of the Tokai Talbo Woody series (surely a prize example of an oxymoron), but this Blazing Fire edition would seem to be yet another wooden-bodied variation.
It's still quite a cool original design from a company largely known for their replicas, but for myself it doesn't have the appeal of the original metal-bodied Talbo.
G L Wilson
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
I'm wondering about a pair of "toy" plastic guitars I recall as a very young kid, that were made by the Emenee Company in the U.S. back around 1965 or so. The one that surfaces a lot on eBay and on those my-first-guitar webpages is the Emenee "Tiger"/Sears "WingDing", a plastic archtop of questionable note and intonation. Pics can be seen at: http://mewzik.com/research/emenee/guitar/wingding/index.html
The other was called the "Swingin' Cat", but I've found no images or mentions of this model anywhere. If anyone has any info on the Swingin' Cat, speak up please!
BTW, Emenee rounded out its line of toy instruments with the "Big Bash Drums" and the "Polychord Electric Organ". The post-Beatle U.S. manufacturing rush of the 1960s was something to behold.
Alan Peterson Springfield, Virginia USA
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
Latvis sent the above photo and comments that: "I know that John Mayall has many modified and odd shaped guitars. [In] 1990 he played this one at Kuusrock Festival here in Finland."
