GuardiansGuitar

I dig the peeps at PREMIER GUITAR, and I was an early recognizer of PG editor Shawn Hammond's talents. I hired him at GUITAR PLAYER. Twice. But I had to respectfully giggle at PG's expense when I saw the headline "Why Do So Many Posers Play Offset Guitars." https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/29777-Why-Do-So-Many-Posers-Play-Offset-Guitars-Shawn-Hammond Maybe it's not that funny. The pressure to seduce web trafficâand the resulting online revenueâremains daunting for all publishers. In this case, I'm assuming a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) fearing web editor wrote the headline instead of Shawn, as the article is not really a treatise on the poser minions being drawn to offset guitars. In fact, in an article predominantly about another subject (more on this later), Shawn explicitly hammers the "Poser Premise" just once: "These guitars are flavor-of-the-moment rejects preferred by hipsters hell-bent on using something different to distract from the fact that they couldn"t play their way out of a paper bagâwhich is why we don"t mind the 'inferior' hardware, 'useless' bells and whistles, and 'wimpy' sonics." But the major themes of this otherwise engaging articleâas well as a headline that would more accurately encapsulate those themesâwere likely deemed less compelling for capturing a click to read. What a shame. I enjoyed reading about Shawn's "rediscovery" and appreciation of the Fender Jaguar and its quirks and benefitsâwhich is what the article is really about. I'd think that readers would totally dig the perspective of a respected editor and player sharing his personal assessment of a particular guitar model. Shouldn't that be enough? Nah. Instead, PG popped on a more-or-less controversy-inducing headline to (hopefully) collect views. Now, I'm having a bit 'o' fun here about bait-and-switch, sensationalist journalism, but I don't really blame the headline writer, either. He or she had their corporate marching orders. They did their job. (Truth be told, PG competitors GP and GUITAR WORLD often play the same gameâit's the bane of generating readership and revenue in a very competitive publishing industry.) Maybe someday, an article will be able to be appreciated and trusted on the merit of its actual subject matter, rather than the one sentence or thought that might make a good "Gotcha!" headline. One can dream, right? Oh, and by the wayâWHO decides who and what a "poser" is anyway? Is it someone that musicians such as you or I determine "couldn't play their way out of a paper bag"? (Oh, what power we have!) Given the sometimes rampant and mean criticism of guitarists by other guitar players, we could argue that, if WE define "posers" broadly as "people who can't play," then there are "posers" out there who wield all kinds of different guitarsâLes Pauls, Teles, Strats, Schecters, Ibanezes, Peaveys, Reverends, Gretsches, PRS models, and perhaps even weirdo Italian junkers from the dawn of the 1960s. Maybe we should do a clinical survey to collect actual data on how many "posers" play which models. Ah, forget about it. That would take a lot more research and sweat equity than writing a slick headline... What are your thoughts?

Excuse being a bit of a Peeping Tom here, but I thought it would be fun if we shared photos of guitar gear that was gifted to us by friends and/or loved ones, or cool products that we gifted ourselves. Seems like a good way to kick off the gear lust for 2020, right? [i just got a pair of drumsticks, the Abbey Road remix, and some Samsung Galaxy earbuds, so, sadly, I'm out.] Hoping everyone's holidays were fab! Cheers, Mike

My buddies at Guitar.com posted this interview with Paul Reed Smith discussing the future of guitar... https://guitar.com/features/interviews/paul-reed-smith-future-of-guitar/ What would YOU like to see guitar makers develop, refine, or innovate in 2020 on our fave instrument? Please let your ideas fly and share your comments! Thanks all, Mike

During too much travel running up to the holidays, my mind ventured into a weird place, and that strange joint was cooking up a stew of competition, achievement, and the lambasting of other players that are deemed "less than" oneself. Now, I know that many guitarists DO NOT take part in taking APART other players in the community, but my brain simply wouldn't let go of this stream of consciousness journey. It wasn't a happy trip. It was likely a wrong-headed exercise. But I soldiered on anyway. So here it is... Very very very few musicians are talented, lucky, ambitious, ruthless, giving, and savvy enough to truly command a HUGE PRESENCE. These titans sell millions of records/downloads/streams and often perform in massive venues populated with tens of thousands of fans. They AFFECT entertainment culture. It's incredible. A long way further down the success ladder are what I would still define as equally fabulous players who aren't superstars, but can still etch out a decent living by purely writing and performing music. These people are warriors, as well, and they seduce enough of an audience to maintain the celebrity, content production, and revenue streams to keep them from working everyday jobs. The rest of us? Well, we are not those people. Some of us create and write for fun and entertainment. Some play local, regional, or even national gigs that are cool, but not enough to pay the bills. Some never get out of the crap bars. Hardly any of these musicians engage the large audiences needed to sell significant music or merch. Typically, the expense to do what they do far exceeds the income that what they do actually generates. In factâusing a Marvel Comics exampleâThanos could snap his fingers and vaporize EVERY guitarist who wasn't a superstar or a living-wage earner, and the community of music consumers might not even notice for quite a spell. (Well, unless your family and friends compromised most of your less-than-mammoth fan base and started wondering why you weren't showing up for dinner.) The point here is that a colossal population of "not superstar/not living wage earning" guitarists are, for the most part, IN THE SAME BOAT, so to speak. No one is SIGNIFICANTLY pummeling another player with massive amounts of success they can lord over someone. Let's look at the old "pyramid" graphic that marketing people use from time to time: The microscopic triangle at the top are the superstars, the slight larger section below it are the living-wage earners, and the extremely large section below THAT is everyone else. Welcome to the jungle! Now, here's the part to ponder... If we who all-together populate the foot of the pyramid are basically churning in the same business marketplace of, um, [1] losing money, breaking even, or not consistently bringing in profits, [2] playing much the same venues that aren't regularly arenas, theaters, or high-end clubs, [3] not owning a massive presence in the celebrity and audience slipstream, and [4] not inspiring, in a major way, the next generation of creators, THEN WHY DO SOME OF OUR CO-CONSPIRATORS IN THE BUSINESS OF NOT BEING SUCCESSFUL CRITICIZE THEIR COHORTS IN THE SAME PETRI DISH? It's kinda nutty. In a marketplace of varying degrees of failure, does it really matter if one player is faster than another, or has a better guitar tone, or owns hipper equipment, or writes "better" songs, or whose band is tighter, and so on? Aren't all of these elements simply "ego rationalizations" that hide from the matter at hand, that, as CEOs of our own musical empires, we are pretty freaking hopeless? I mean, a super-fast player who supposedly writes awesome songs and who occasionally performs at a fabulous theater is, in essence, not winning the business battle anymore decisively than a player who tends to make a lot of musical mistakes and has crappy tone, but is very entertaining. PLEASE: I'm not flying the flag for mediocrity here, or saying that someone who chooses not to practice and embraces sloppiness is a person that should be celebrated. I am merely saying â admittedly with a LOT of babble â that one should seriously consider which community they are in, BEFORE they get all egotistical and downright mean and incredibly unsupportive to the people who are standing right next to them. We at the bottom of the pyramid should enjoy what we do, immerse ourselves in trying to create art that is true for each one of us, and, where we can, HELP our brothers and sisters who MAY have a chance to crawl up to the next level of the pyramid. Pissing all over other musicians in our "play space," once again, is like battling to be the last rat on a sinking ship. You may drown last, but you're still going to drown. Does THAT make you happy about yourself? Instead, maybe we could try lifting each other UP in 2020...

Despite my long-time editorship at GUITAR PLAYER, I'm fairly tech-stupid when it comes to my own gear. Case in point: I've never changed the tubes in any of my amps. Until now... My Vox AC15C1 has been a workhorse and a true warrior throughout years of gigging. I simply plug in and tone happens. So I was embarrassed when my band performed at a big club in a hotel, and my sound was thin and tinny and just kinda awful. It was a quick staging change-over, so I convinced myself that I might have foisted some "operator error" thing under fire, and screwed the tone with amp settings, or pedal stuff, or even a cranky guitar. Then, I got a huge show opening for X and Los Straitjackets at a theater, and during the soundcheck I realized what an utter dumb ass I am. The horrid thin tone was still there. I tried to adjust everything in sight, but the sound was like railroad ties being clanged together. I set my Gretsch hollowbody to the neck pickup, plugged into the Normal channel of the AC15, and set the EQ for maximum treble and midrange roll-off. The sound still frightened the crap out of me, but I survived the gig, and I don't think the audience noticed anything awful or suspicious. (This is one of those moments when you are super grateful to have a co-guitarist in the band!) After the show, I was shamed â by the aforementioned co-guitarist â to do something I had never done before: Buy matching sets of preamp and power tubes and change out every tube in the amp. No surprise hereâthat worked like a dream. All of the tone came back: The lush chime, the impactful overdrive, the awesome feedback/sustain, and the glorious attack. I stood there with my guitar in my hands and thought, "Thank you, Santa Claus, for showing me that I'm an idiot so that this never happens to me again!" Happy Holidays to everyone in the forum!!!! Cheers, Mike

Five Guitar-Tone Goofs to Avoid [Originally written for Electronic Musician, 2011] Today, there may be a zillion signal-processing options available to the average guitarist. Ya got your modeling software, boutique and mass-production pedals, studio processors, plug-ins, and myriad multi-effects devicesâmost of which are totally affordable and designed for all skill levels and stylistic forays. But having ultimate power doesn''t mean you have to wield it like Thor''s hammer. In fact, employing processing without forethought may actually tank your guitar tone. Here are five 'oops-inducing' sounds that you might wish to avoid. SATURATION = MUSCLE Massive applications of distortion can actually neuter a guitar sound by obscuring attack, impact, and punch. Not much machismo in fizziness, bucko! In actual fact, some of the boldest guitar tones in rock aren''t as overdriven as one might think. Check out 'Highway to Hell' by AC/DC, 'Smoke on the Water' by Deep Purple, or 'Good Times, Bad Times' by Led Zeppelin. These tunes fire off some mammoth aural wallops, but the guitars driving the grooves and energy are relatively tame from a distortion/saturation standpoint. In many cases, heaviness is a matter of dialing in guitar sounds that allow the other instruments to rage. If you slaughter the frequency spectrum with buzzy waves of searing midrange distortion, the attack of the bass, snare, and other rhythm-oriented elements may be diminished, and effectively kneecap the sonic power of your track. REVERB MAKES IT BIGGER While reverb can absolutely place a guitar sound in a huge ambient environment, too much of a good thing can wash out your track, blurring rhythmic attacks with cascading reflections and devouring a significant chunk of frequency range. Phil Spector''s classic 'Wall of Sound' productions actually took a fair bit of genius and lots of experimentation and tweaking to deliver a rollicking ambient roar with impact and clarity. Phil didn''t just crank up a cathedral reverb program to 100-percent wet and call it a day. This is definitely one of those instances where comparing your reverb-drenched guitar tracks to the guitars on a song you dig can save much embarrassment, as those guitars will likely prove to be much drier than you imagined. LAYERS ARE LOVELY Tone addicts often believe that if one guitar track is great, then doubling, tripling, or quadrupling that track will deliver tonal bliss. Well, watch those overdubs, because adding too many layers and textures to a guitar part can also weaken attack and diminish impact. A simple rule is: If you absolutely love the sound of a single guitar track, keep it lonely. Once you start piling on overdubs, you will alter the guitar''s sonic DNA, and risk destroying all that you adored about the solitary track. MODULATION RULES It''s no secret that chorus, phasing, and flanging are fabulous spices that add interest and vibe to guitar sounds. But too much goop can send listeners into an annoying carousel of swirling candy-cane sweetness that may pull their attention away from the song and the guitar part. Try blending in just a touch of modulation first, and then see how the processed guitar fits in with the stereo mix. Use only what you really need, and you''ll cook up something tasty. DRY IS BORING A great dry guitar sound that turns heads is a thing of beauty. Listen to raw guitar tracks by Rory Gallagher or any number of artists, and be astounded by the feral majesty of in-yer-face tone, attack, dynamics, and phrasing. Remember, kids, there''s a ton of vibe in your fingers if you choose to unleash it.

Hey, Surfergirl... Yes. It certainly sucks to not have gigs on the schedule, but if you believe in the music you are playing, then rehearsals need to happen to keep your chops up and your show rockin' for when you DO get a booking. Some things I like to do to keep rehearsals flowing and motivation nurtured amongst the band members: [1] Learn new songs. [2] Rethink arrangements of songs you already perform and freshen them up. [3] Vocal refinements. I think EVERY band always needs to work on vocal presentation, as serious vocal-only rehearsals tend to get "under-cooked" when it's more fun to rock out the instrumentals as a full band. [4] Tighten up bass and drum grooves. [5] Just hang out and discuss band plans and strategies. It's really a blessing to play music and make people happy. We owe it to our audiences to always rock with passion, technique, tightness, and fun. Cheers, Mike

The upcoming box set SONGS FOR GROOVY CHILDREN includes a previously unreleased live performance of "Ezy Rider" by Band of Gypsys. Do you feel this is a wonderful and inspiring track for a new generationâas well as for all the guitarists and music lovers of a "certain age" whose minds were blown back when Jimi was aliveâor simply a so-so performance pulled out to sell more product? TRACK: https://www.air.tv/watch?v=ovWnnsqoRvmWCOQqsktFUQ FULL STORY HERE: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/jimi-hendrix-ezy-ryder/

Oh no.... https://ultimateclassicrock.com/munchs-make-believe-band-retire/

Hi gang... Here is my review of the Jennifer Batten, Gretchen Menn, Nili Brosh concert at The Chapel San Francisco on November 6. The story contains some cool video snippets and photos. https://guardiansofguitar.com/2019/11/09/review-batten-menn-brosh-at-the-chapel-san-francisco/ It was definitely a wonderful event for evangelizing guitar. I plan to do more of these types of promotional-guitar concerts in the future, so if anyone has any ideas to promote awesome "under the radar" players of all ages, styles, and sexes, please pass those thoughts my way. Thanks all, Mike

https://guardiansofguitar.com/2019/11/09/review-batten-menn-brosh-at-the-chapel-san-francisco/

Hi all... Guardians of Guitar is co-producing a pretty cool Jennifer Batten-Gretchen Menn-Nili Brosh trio concert at the Chapel in San Francisco on Wednesday, November 6. https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/jennifer-batten-gretchen-menn-nili-brosh-discuss-their-new-trio-show If you decide to check it out, please ping me at gpeditor@gmail.com so that we can maybe say "hi." Other dates on the tour are here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2759417104102508/events/ All the Best, Mike

Hi all... Guardians of Guitar is co-producing this event at the Chapel in San Francisco on November 6. https://www.guitarplayer.com/players/jennifer-batten-gretchen-menn-nili-brosh-discuss-their-new-trio-show Should be a cool night of guitar awesomeness. Let me know if you make the scene so that I can say "hi." Cheers, Mike

Hi all... This is just an alert for groovy bassists who have the time and discretionary bucks to attend the Sgt. Pepper Live Camp at Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp, Hollywood CA, November 14-17. The fun bit is joining camper bands to perform Beatles tunes and the Sgt. Pepper album with CHEAP TRICK and an orchestra at the Whisky a Go Go. The Camp bass counselors you can meet and hang with include Rudy Sarzo and Tony Franklin. All the info is: https://www.rockcamp.com/fantasy-camp-cheap-trick-beatles.php Please understand two things... [1] I'm a contractor who does social posts for the company. But, that said, I DO believe in these camps. They are tons of fun. [Also, I don't make ANY revenue from posting this. I'm simply making all of you fab bassists aware that the Camp would love to see more bass players signing up.] [2] The cost of admission is not insignificant. It's like a land cruise for bassists who want to experience a long weekend awash in rock stars and the music of the Beatles. If any of this sounds interesting, please feel free to click the link, or call Monica at (888) 762-2263 ext. 7 for more info. If it's NOT even something you'd consider, then I thank you for your time. Rock on! MM

Okay. Old man huff here. Admittedly. But, man, every time I happen upon an AXS so-called documentary about rock music, my tush hurts. I can't say this happens with ALL documentaries broadcast by the channel, but the ones I have seenâfor the 5 minutes or so that I could stomach themâtypically trigger 5 pain points for me: [1] Bland, vacuous, and, at times, silly intel about artists that could have been curated from Wikipedia with zero depth, no surprises, and very little informational value for anyone who would have 3.7-percent knowledge of the musician(s) being profiled. [2] Young pretty peeps who appear to have little concept of what they are talking about beyond reading a script culled from, well, one guesses Wikipedia, but they DO look nice babbling on at least. [3] Redundancies R US. Sigh. [4] Annoying sound byte designed quotes abound. "You know, Brian Wilson wrote songs while SITTING IN AN ACTUAL SANDBOX." Oh boy... [5] Even the on-screen "professional musician/producer/manager/sideperson/roadie" talent that should know betterâor possess deeper information on the subject at handâare edited for sound bytes and sadly appear far less-eloquent than they really are. Are brains devalued that much on these things? I wish I owned a big-ass media company in order to produce well-researched and valuable data on the community I love. Or maybe not. Old-man relevance issues surging upward: Perhaps that endeavor would fail miserably because popular culture today values brief nothings far more than deep data. Your thoughts?

No joke. Ian Hunter is cancelling the upcoming dates of his Mott the Hoople '74 Tour on doctor's orders due to his "severe" tinnitus. ORIGINAL ARTICLE https://ultimateclassicrock.com/mott-the-hoople-tour-canceled/ GUARDIANS OF GUITAR FACEBOOK POST https://www.facebook.com/guardiansofguitar/ Musiciansâand guitarists, especiallyâoften "under value" the need for ear protection. I gig a lot, and I still see countless players in reasonably loud rock bands who never wear earplugs of any kind. It's even crazier when someone shows me their in-ear monitor system, and I don't dare put the earbuds in my ears, because the playback is screaming loud even as I hold them in my hands. I have tinnitus myself, and I'm lucky. I was an idiot in my youth, rocking with Marshall half-stacks and playing at nutso volumes at rehearsals, gigs, and studio sessions. I don't have anywhere near the level of damage I probably should have. The ringing in my ears is reasonably slight, and I hear it most at night before I go to sleep when environmental noises aren't in the picture very much. Today, I wear those earplugs every time I am about to be blasted by volume. I don't want the ringing to get any worse. What are YOU doing to protect your most valuable asset as a musician?

Robert Fripp is fighting the good fight for all professional musicians... https://guardiansofguitar.com/2019/09/25/opinion-whats-in-a-title/

Without trying to sound too much like Oprah, I'm all about no regrets. Every day is a new opportunity to be awesome, and, as long as you're breathing and healthy and still playing guitar, you can improve, absorb knowledge, and rock like a demon!

I don't feel like explicitly calling out the media company that inspired this post, because I have my own guitar-media thing going over at Guardians of Guitar, and I've also worked for competing media. But when I see statements, headlines, and/or video intros such as "Here's our rundown of the 15 best chorus pedals available on the market today," I feel I'm justified in expecting the "recommending" entity to have actually tested those 15 pedals rather comprehensively. I mean, you're telling me these are the "best" â at least in the considered opinion of the reviewer(s), and I'm okay with that. I can deal with a writer's specific lean regarding likes, dislikes, and overt subjectivity, as long as they explain their processes and defend their findings. In the specific case above, however, only SOME of the chorus pedals received full reviews. A significant amount of the data was obviously culled from press releases, and a few of the mentions even linked back to the original press releases from the manufacturers of the pedals. In a journalistic era where clickbait and web-traffic acquisition appears, in many cases, to override truth, research, and fair play, I get why some media elements seek to get players to click facile gear-roundup promises such as "the best," "the greatest," "the ultimate," "the most value," and so on. I simply look forward to the day when players refuse to read review content that isn't deep, comprehensive, detail oriented, accurate, and full of real-world application points ("this is good for this, but perhaps not so good for that," etc.). PLEASE don't click reviews that promise you ratings and recommendations by editors who haven't even plugged the things in. Aren't we all better than that?

David Hasselhoff is starting to release tracks from his upcoming album OPEN YOUR EYES (due Sept 27), and I was kinda surprised that six of my favorite guitarists have contributed to the tracks. Open Your Eyes feat. James Williamson (The Stooges) Head On feat. Elliot Easton (The Cars) I Melt With You feat. Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) Hear I Go Again feat. Tracii Guns (L.A. Guns) Jump In My Car feat. Todd Rundgren Sugar, Sugar feat. Steve Cropper As I said on the Guardians of Guitar Facebook page: It's good to be the Hoff!

Thanks tons, A String. I really appreciate your support. Please keep in touch and let us know what is going on in your world from time to time. And, of course, a big bravo and many thanks for your long service to the MPN forum. Quite a journey!

Shouldn't be too much to ask, right? But in just about every band I've been a member of, there's one of those self-absorbed, clueless players who insist upon: [1] Tuning at the same volume as performing a show. (Ever hear of those fancy little digital tuners that mute the output as you fiddle about?) [2] Constantly practicing riffs, solos, or just spewing musical blather at high volume while other band members are trying to have a conversation. [3] Trying out their pedalboard at high volume while the other members are setting up. [4] Not listening to anyone about anything because they are too absorbed in refining their own partsâwhich may or may not work with the band arrangement as a whole, because, well, they weren't really listening when arrangements were being discussed. [5] Pretty much NEVER allowing one f**king moment of silence the entire time they are in the rehearsal room. Typically, guitar players are the main offenders here, but some bassists and keyboard players are also infected with the "It's All About Me" strain of jerk-hood. **A funny sidebar: If a drummer similarly starts nattering about before a song starts, the butthead guitarist, bassist, or keyboardist who never shuts up is usually the first band member to bark, "Hey, stop it. We can't even f**king THINK in here with you playing that stuff!" Gotta love that...

Ha. Love wise guys. I'm Italian! Vinnie has been around for awhileâhe played with UFO for a long spellâso this post was simply a little ol' public service for those who DO care. No huff on my part. Just putting guitar content out there from time to time. Hope all is well, and best to everyone! Cheers, Mike

Sorry. Link glitch. Try this one: https://www.facebook.com/guardiansofguitar/videos/409971136214118/?epa=SEARCH_BOX Thanks for letting me know! Best, Mike

Hi all... Vinnie Moore just gave Guardians of Guitar a brief snippet of his upcoming album SOUL SHIFTER to share. https://www.facebook.com/guardiansofguitar/videos/409971136214118/?epa=SEARCH_BOX Cheers, Mike