Duane Flowers dot Com

100 Famous Rock Guitar Riffs – one take

For the 100 song titles and artists, check out www.brodiecumming.com I plan to put together tab for the transpositions and adaptations used in the medley video and will post it on my web site. Send me an email with the subject TAB 100 riffs and Ill return it with a link when the tab is posted. Brodie@brodiecumming.com This video was put together as a fun “stunt”, intended to give my guitar students some cool song ideas to work on and music to explore.

9 year old guitar prodigy YUTO MIYAZAWA performs Ozzy Osbourne’s Crazy Train on Ellen Degeneres

9 year old prodigy Yuto Miyazawa from Japan plays crazy train by ozzy ozbourne 5/11/09 I do not own copyright to this video. Enjoy

Crossroads Guitar Duel

A amazing guitar duel at the "crossroads".

Left Hand Guitarists and Left Handed Guitars

Left Hand guitar players the world over have always had a problem with availability of left handed guitars.

Many left handed people newly learning to play guitar end up learning to play right handed out of frustration. Many experienced left handed guitarists have simply become apathetic and given up looking for that which is abundant for right handed players. Not only is there a limited range of guitars, but the resources for learning are also pretty limited. This situation is the same in every country in the world.

It is not hard to understand. Of the world’s population, left handed people are a minority compared to right handed people. Within this minority there is a further minority of left handed people who play guitar left handed. Despite the small percentage of left handed guitarists, there have been a number of iconic left handed players who have made a huge impact on the music scene. These include Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Tony Iommi, and Kurt Cobain.

Many of the big guitar manufacturers do not offer left hand versions of some of their popular guitars. to be fair, US guitar manufacturers, have been facing harder and harder times, year after year. We all know that ALL industry (that is trying to do the right thing and being honest) is suffering and this is proportional to the decline of education (kids can’t learn, can’t hold jobs), the rise of drugs (thank you psychiatrists for getting rich by doping a whole generation into a state of useless-ness while brainwashing parents into believing frying kids brains with drugs is good) and increase of social hardship due to the world economic crash that’s going on (thanks Oil companies, banks, and government suppression) So it is tough for all.

Some guitar manufacturers offer left handed versions of their guitars through their Custom Shop. And although this is an attempt at service, the costs and waiting times can be quite painful.

Well, not any more! GASKELL GUITARS is a small Australian guitar manufacturer that makes only left hand guitars. Gaskell guitars are high quality, yet affordable instruments, that can be gigged with as they are or further upgraded or modified and still come in well under the cost of a custom shop order for the same kind of instrument!

Being situated at the “bottom of the world” and to some degree away from the noise of the collapse happening in other continents, we are able to operate intelligently and with focus on producing well-made, high quality left handed guitars that are not available as left hand models by original manufacturers.

Go to : http://www.gaskellguitars.com

You will find left handed guitars that you have not seen before in left hand and probably never thought you would! Some dreams do become reality.

Why I Love Gibson Guitars

There is something timeless about Gibson guitars.

They have been around for a million years it seems and they have been responsible for some of the most innovative guitar designs ever to appear.

The humbucking pickup is a Gibson design. Who could imagine life in the 21st Century without humbucking pickups for guitars? You couldn’t! That would be a nightmare reality! There goes “Rock” music. We’d all be playing and listening to … I don’t know!

There is a passion behind Gibson guitars that is very admirable and commendable. That passion has been there for many, many decades! We the user have received and created JOY with a Gibson in our hands and our creativity in full bloom. Many generations of great song writers, and guitar players have been and gone. The Gibson name has stayed througout time. Why? Because they are great guitars!

At GASKELL Guitars we manufacturer exclusively left handed guitars. Our mainstay model is based on the 1958 Gibson Explorer. This is a wonderful guitar, ahead of it’s time when it was designed, and to this day is a popular “extreme shape” guitar with many artists such as James Hetfield (Metallica), The Edge (U2), Gary Moore, and more. In the 1980s and 1990s just about every guitarist seemed to played Explorers or Explorers made by other guitar manufacturers such as The Police, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Kiss, U2, Metallica, Rick Nielsen, ZZ Top, Lynard Skynard, Gary Moore, and more!

The modern day Explorer is not made in left hand by Gibson or their subsidiary, Epiphone.

A left handed version is made by GASKELL GUITARS.

Other guitar manufacturers who have been inspired by this masterpiece of music instrumentation are Hamer (theirs is called the Hamer “Standard” and doesn’t have the pickguard), Dean Guitars (make an impressive range of colours for their version), Jackson Guitars (Jackson’s is called the “Kelly” and is a little different from the Explorer but is still visibly Explorer derived.) Other companies have made clones of the Explorer such as Tokai, Stagg, Aria, and in the past Ibanez, ESP and Peavey to name a few.

None of these companies listed above as far as we know make their variant Explorers in left hand without going the “custom shop” option which usually results in a pay out of around $4000 and possibly more than a year waiting time.

The Explorer guitar is really a master piece.

Left Handed guitarists can play one now, via Gaskell Guitars, and experience first hand the pleasure of such a fabulous instrument.

Gibson is a musical instrument company that has stood the test of time because of innovative and dedicated passion towards the music industry and guitar players and we here at Gaskell Guitars would like to tip our hats in honour of the legend that we have had some fortune to partially benefit from by way of the left handed Explorer style guitar we manufacture to fill that gap in the market.

EXPLORERS are great guitars. Left handed guitarists can now enjoy the greatness of them via Gaskell Guitars!

Andy McKee – Guitar – Drifting – www.candyrat.com

Drifting – Andy McKee Original Song CD – Art of Motion www.candyrat.com Andy McKee Myspace www.myspace.com

Types of Guitars – Acoustic Electric Guitars, Electric Guitars, Classical Guitars, Hollow-body Guitars, Steel Guitars

Acoustic electric Guitars: this is a term used to describe acoustic guitars that have pickups installed in them so they can be plugged into amplifiers or PA systems. The majority of acoustic guitars you see on stage are acoustic electric guitars. Structurally, they are identical to traditional acoustic guitars.

Electric Guitars: these types of guitars made out of a solid piece of wood and rely exclusively on their electronic pickup systems and amplifiers for their volume. Their unique sound lends itself best to rock and roll, but they have also substantially shaped the sound of country music in the last 50 years. (Think “twang”)

Classical Guitars: also called “nylon-string”, classical guitars are used almost exclusively in the classical and folk idioms, but can also be found on more popular recordings. Carlos Santana makes a lot of use of the classical guitar in his

recordings. Slightly smaller than a traditional acoustic, they feature slightly wider necks and strings that are made of nylon rather than steel, to give them a very gentle, warm sound. The best Classical guitars are usually from Spain.

Hollow-body Guitars: These are simply traditional electric guitars that have chambers cut in the body to allow for more sonic resonance. They come in many different sizes and are favored primarily by players of blues and jazz music.

Steel Guitars: These are the farthest breed apart from traditional guitars so far. While any guitarist can pick up any guitar

from the above list and play, a steel guitar requires special training to play. The guitar is played flat on its back, and the strings are elevated approximately half an inch above the fretboard. This allows the strings to be played using a “tone bar” that takes the place of the fingers on a fretboard and gives the steel guitar its classic “crying sound”. This is the archetypal guitar sound.

January 2008 Interview With Kevin Gaskell of Gaskell Guitars

This is an interview with Kevin Gaskell, designer and founder of GASKELL GUITARS from Australia. This is from January 2008.

Name of your company?

Gaskell Guitars

Your name?

Kevin Gaskell (I am the designer)

Your Location (city, etc)

Alexandria, Sydney. Australia

Please give us a short summary of your company?

Gaskell Guitars is the only guitar manufacturer in the world that makes ONLY left handed guitars. Based in Australia, Gaskell Guitars is attempting to provide popular guitars not otherwise available as left handed models to the LEFT HANDED GUITAR PLAYERS of this world. I started this 10 years ago. I got it fully together at the end of 2006.

What inspired you to launch your own website?

To get the message out: Left hand guitarists need not feel left out in the dark, or penalized, or ignored for simply being a left handed guitar player.

When did you launch your first website, and what was it?

We have been in business since the beginning of 2007 but did not launch our website until mid 2007. There is still some work to be done but the most important thing is getting high quality guitars into the hands of left hand guitar players who have often given up ever finding the guitars we make!

How did you decide on a name for your website?

Brand name

What makes it different from other, similar offerings?

We are the only company in the world that provides left handed guitars exclusively despite it apparently being a small market. No one else is doing this because no one else really cares about left handed guitar players unless they have a lot of CASH to flash around and have something made in a Custom Shop.

What is your eventual goal?

Corner the market. Internationally. Our brand name recognition is growing. People like our products and they ARE good. I am a left handed guitar player myself so I talk the talk and walk the walk.

How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?

Still to make a profit! Heavily driven by passion, as any purpose that someone is dedicated to.

If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would things change?

We’d be able to make more guitars faster and satisfy even more left handed guitarists – e.g bass players. Demand is greater than supply at the moment. It costs money to take another step and then another step.

If your business site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?

Already struggling with keeping up with product demand! Left Handed guitarists are a passionate lot. And they should be! They’ve been kicked in the teeth for many years. All lefty players know this.

What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?

The first model is always the most expensive. All our guitars had to be redesigned from scratch and are largely hand made. Tooling (CNC Machines) in factories is designed for making right handed guitars. It’s been “interesting” to set this up shall we say. It would never have been this tough to make right handed guitars and try and break into a saturated market there. It is much much cheaper to make right handed guitars.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Making the guitars affordable while still making a profit. We don’t make a lot on our guitars. We could’ve charged ridiculous prices since no one else makes our models but then that’s called “greed” and that’s not where we are at. Left Handed guitarists have been betrayed bad enough as it is. The other thing we struggle with is shipping costs. This is beyond our control. Costs to USA and Europe from Australia are pretty ridiculous in the post-9/11 world.

What method has been most successful for promoting your website?

Classified Ads

How has running your website differed from your expectations?

I’m not a website builder or hoster. Every little change or improvement costs money! Good news comes at a price!

How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don’t enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?

Since about mid 2007. We intend to keep it going for as long as left hand guitarists want our guitars – hopefully forever!

Why are you doing this?

I was born in New Zealand. I have been playing guitar for 25 years. I always wanted to own a Gibson Explorer. In 25 years I never saw one and Gibson only ever made them at one time, in the 1980s when I didn’t have the money to buy one. Many other guitars didn’t come in left hand at that time. 25 years later NOT MUCH HAD CHANGED. I decided that if we are going to be essentially “overlooked” by the big guitar manufacturers then I will fill this void. I made my first guitar in 1992 and it’s developed from there. Customers who have bought Gaskell guitars are routinely delighted and grateful for these instruments, not just because the price is good, but because they are EXCELLENT, high quality guitars which has always been and always will be our intention. We don’t do “cheap” except in price.

What is your website address?

Gaskell Guitars

guitar

www.GuitarMasterPro.net I learned to play guitar with GuitarMasterPro.net Practice, Practice, Practice and get a copy of Guitar Master Pro, that’s how I did it! Good Luck!

Tips to Buy a Classical Guitar

Buying a new guitar is always an exciting process for the beginner or experienced guitarist. A basic knowledge of the instrument and an assessment of your musical goals will help you make a wise purchase, a purchase you can enjoy for years, perhaps even a lifetime All guitars produce sound through the vibration of the strings. Classical guitars transmit the vibration of the string to the soundboard via the saddle and bridge. The combined resonance of the strings, saddle, bridge and soundboard are, in turn, amplified in the sound-box or body of the guitar. The design and quality of the, saddle, bridge and soundboard have a major impact on the guitar’s sound.

Have in mind before buying…

Nylon produces a round, mellow sound and is the preferred sound for classical, Low, medium, normal and hard tension strings create a tension up 75-90 pounds. Less string tension makes a classic guitar easier to play. The fingerboard, 50-52 mm at the nut, provides room for intricate finger picking. The longer string, 650-655mm length from saddle to nut enhances the bass response and sustain. The classical guitar body style is smaller than most other acoustic designs which make the instrument easy to handle and feel. Always remember, when buying a handmade guitar, you are buying a live instrument. Temperature and humidity are the main factors to ruptures and instrument deterioration if not cared according to the maker’s instructions.

See” taking care of your guitar” below.

Setting Goals

What are your goals? Are you anticipating a serious hobby or majoring in music? If so, buy the best solid top guitar you can afford. An inexpensive guitar is a good choice if your goal is merely casual enjoyment for a semester or so (or if you’re really poor!). Do you need to be amplified for church or stage? If so, an acoustic-electric classical will afford maximize versatility. Before shopping, decide on a budget so the dealer can show you guitars in your price range.

Trying Out a Guitar – Action

Each guitar is unique in feel due to variations in neck thickness and shape. If the neck is comfortable, the guitar will be easier to play. The string height above the fingerboard–the action–also influences playing ease. The action may vary according to personal taste and playing style. High action is difficult to play but allows buzz-free high volume playing. Low

action is easy to play but buzzes during aggressive playing. A compromise between the two is best for most players. Fortunately, the action can be adjusted to suit your needs. If you are a steel-string player, remember that classical action is higher than steel-string action due to nylon’s lower tension. Listen carefully to the timbre (tone color) of the guitar. A balance between dark and bright is the most versatile. However, timbre preference is subject to taste and playing style. If your right hand technique is on the bright side, a dark sounding guitar will help balance your tone. If you play without

nails, a brighter guitar will help bring out the upper frequencies. Play single notes throughout the guitar’s range and listen to how they sustain. Listen to the relationship of the bass notes to the treble. The bass should be firm with a long sustain. However, the treble notes must be able to stand out in relation to the bass so you can project the melody. Finally, have someone play the instrument so you can judge the projection. What’s the difference in sound between a $300 guitar and a $3000 one? Budget guitars are less resonate and have a smaller tonal and dynamic range than expensive guitars.

Workmanship

Whether you are a beginning or advanced player, a quality guitar is crucial to your success and enjoyment. A fine instrument is easy to play, exudes workmanship, and sounds resonant and responsive. A quality instrument inspires you to practice and excel as a musician. Buy the best guitar you can afford and it will greatly enhance your learning and enjoyment. Note the quality of workmanship in the seating and polish of the frets, the binding between the top and sides, and in the finish. However, in all fairness, you normally get what you pay for. Budget guitars cost less because cheap materials and lesser workmanship are used to trim costs. Budget guitars should be playable but will have numerous finish defects, unpolished frets, messy glue joints, unsanded bracing and poorly adjusted action (a good dealer will adjust the action if needed). Premium quality guitars will have a near perfect fit and finish of all components. Even the interior bracing will be neatly glued and sanded smooth! Before purchasing a guitar, confirm that the tuning heads turn smoothly and allow reasonable pitch control. Fortunately, cheap or broken turning heads are relatively easy and inexpensive to replace.

Price Ranges

Professional classical guitarists play instruments handcrafted by individual makers, e.g., Fleta, Hauser or Gilbert. Depending on the maker’s reputation, these guitars cost $3,000 to $20,000. Guitars made by a specialized group of builders in a small shop cost from $1000 to $10,000 e.g., Ramírez, Hirade or Asturias. For most people these instruments are out of each.

Most beginners are looking for an inexpensive guitar. Buyer beware: most guitars retailing for under $100 are disappointing junk. Don’t throw your money away on a cheap toy, pay a little more and get a real guitar. Really cheap guitars have

unacceptable compromises in design, materials and construction quality. Fortunately, there are many factory-made guitars costing from $150 to $300 that make fine beginning instruments.

Recommended Classic Guitars

These models are excellent values in their respective price ranges. Granada guitars from Sevilla- Spain range form $299- $499, Prudencio Saez – guitars form Torrent – Spain. range from $380 -$1,800. Amalio Burguet guitars- Catarroja- Spain, range fro, $999- $4,500.