Archive for July, 2008
The Classic Vibe series of electric guitars and basses from Squier is mildly new, coming out in the last few months. As you might suspect, its guitars are recreations of older, “classic” Fenders.
They all cost around $300 new and feature yellowed white plastic controls and pickups (minus the Tele), maple necks, and bodies of alder, pine, or basswood.
The one people are talking about, I think, is the Duo Sonic. From Squier:
“The Classic Vibe Duo-Sonic ’50s boasts cool, classic Fender® vibe. Originally conceived as a student-level guitar designed to capture the attention of rock ‘n’ roll 1950s youth, the Duo-Sonic became a sought-after model among collectors, musicians and Fender fans.”
I had the chance to play one at my buddy’s place and I liked it a lot. I think this series could definitely take on some of the Mexican Fenders’ market share. The neck felt like a vintage guitar, the sensation to palm, grip, everything. It was light just like the old antiques. The pickups had a vintage sound too. Those older Strats can be noisy, but these look to be clean reproductions.
Ok, that’s all for now. Have a good one.
[This is an update to James Brown’s Old Stuff Up for Auction]
The 350-or-so items from James Brown’s estate were sold yesterday for a sum of around $800,000, a bit short of the 2 million Christie’s estimated. Items of interest: his medical bracelet bought by Paul Schaffer for $32,500, Hammond organ for $10,000, and his pink leather couches for $40,000.
The money is going to be used to pay off his outstanding taxes.
Link:http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/07/18/james-brown-auction-nets-800000/
According to Rolling Stone,
“A guitar famously lit on fire by Jimi Hendrix while performing onstage in London in 1967 is going to auction. Experts are predicting the guitar may fetch as much as $1 million.”
The story goes that he lit it on fire, got burnt (go figure), and on his way to the hospital, told the roadies to snatch it up. Up until now, it’s been owned by Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding and press officer Tony Garland, whose nephew is apparently putting it out for sale. He’s broke, I guess.
It’ll go on sale September 4th later this year.
Up to 30 festival attendees suffered permanent eye damage after being blinded by lasers at an outdoor rave party in Kirzhach, Russia, on July 5th.
“Heavy rain had forced organisers of the event, which took place on July 5 in the town 50 miles outside Moscow, to put up tents for the all-night dance party.
The lasers, which are designed to illuminate the sky, were reflected by the canopy into the eyes of the ravers, burning their retinas.”
Aww… Now I feel bad for writing that hilarious post title…
I promise my next post will have more to do with music.
[Update: James Brown’s Old Stuff Sold at Auction]
According to the New York Times,
“The personal possessions of the soul singer James Brown, the self-proclaimed “Godfather of Soul,” will be auctioned on Thursday as scheduled after an appeals court judge declined on Monday to block the sale.”
Like a lot of non-poor people who pass on, James Brown’s estate is getting fought over by opposing heirs. Add to that the fact that he was a mad pimp, and, well, you’ve got yourself quite a problem.
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/business/15jamesbrown.html
P.S. Have a good day!
I’m not sure if this is big news or not, but the internet certainly thinks so.
Axl Rose, of Guns n’ Roses fame, will debut a brand new song from the supposedly upcoming “Chinese Democracy” album to Rock Band 2, the sequel to the game where you pretend to be a musician with your friends. The song is called “Shackler’s Revenge,” and “Chinese Democracy” has been in the making for more than a decade.
I heard some of the leaked tracks from “Chinese Democracy” and wasn’t very impressed. Is it supposed to be like Bryan Wilson’s “Smile,” his big magnum opus that’ll take a lifetime to finish? Or is he just washed up and biding his time before people realize it?
Ugh. I wish there were something more important to talk about.
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/arts/music/14guns.html
The late, great Jaco Pastorius’ famous bass, the so-called “Bass of Doom,” has been found in New York after being missing since 1986.
If you’ve ever seen one of the Fender signature Jaco models, the Bass of Doom is the instrument those were based on. It was actually smashed by Jaco himself in the mid 1980’s and painstakingly re-glued together by his luthiers.
The party who acquired it let Bass Player Magazine, Will Lee, Victor Wooten, and Victor Bailey get their hands on it, and they give their impressions in a wonderful article from Bass Player Magazine.
Link:http://www.bassplayer.com/article/jacos-1962-fender/mar-08/34267
There’s been a stir in the blogoshpere recently about the RIAA (that’s the Recording Industry Association of America, for those without Wikipedia) supposedly pressuring large computer manufacturers into disabling and limiting the stereo inputs of sound cards, in a superficial attempt to stop any kind of decent analog-to-digital piracy. Dells with SigmaTel chips have reportedly been hit particularly hard.
While the reports are unverified, would it really surprise anyone that much if it were true? It certainly wouldn’t be the first shady tactic this association has used.
Link:http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/07/08/riaa.limiting.pc.stereo.in/
Lately I’ve been looking into getting an effects processor for my acoustics and researching which ones might be good to get.
Click the image for a high-resolution version.
I stumbled upon a review from Premier Guitar about the TC Electronic G-Natural. It seems pretty solid.
“In short, any hardcore acoustic act would love this pedal. It gives you control of your sound, tuning and muting capabilities, plus fun FX and volume for solos… The G-Natural would be a great buy just to take the headache out of gigging with a variety of instruments that have different mix needs.”
I don’t want to gleam too much, so check out the article for more depth.
Oh, here’s a video, too:
Link:http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2008/Mar/Review_TC_Electronic_G_Natural_Multi_effects_Processor.aspx
Link:http://www.worldmusicsupply.com/guitars/accessories/guitar-effects/TC-Electronic/G-NATURAL.asp
Hope everyone had a good, relaxing 4th of July. Mine was all right.
While we’re still in the mood, blogger Ig posted his take on the Bill of Rights late last week. He calls it the Guitar Player’s Bill of Rights.
Favorite:
Right 3: You have the right to enjoy playing guitar.
Let’s face it. Too many guitar players think “difficult” when it comes to playing. That’s why many end up quitting… Turn your playing into something you enjoy. That’s why you chose to play guitar in the first place.
Too true. I think this is actually the case with lots of instruments. Take piano, for example. Many parents sign their kids up for piano lessons, thinking it’ll help them develop a hidden talent, or, at the very least, get them away from a TV for awhile. While that’s all fine and true, more often than not, forcing a kid to take music lessons saps away any appreciation for music he or she might have; after the lessons are done, they’ll spend the rest of their life rarely touching the instrument.
This might be a bigger thought process than I’m willing to blog here. Hmph. Maybe it’ll be food for another post. Anyway, my point is: Just enjoy playing music. You don’t have to be the best to express yourself. You just have to be you.
Link:http://igblog.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/guitar-players-bill-of-rights/
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