Guitar Info

Guitar Solos Quiz: match the soundbites to the list of songs. (We scored 100% here in the office, but it was a joint effort. Personally, I'm not too well up on the likes of The Grateful Dead and Yes).

Here's another new toy. I've had it for two weeks now. I decided that I needed a dedicated 12-string electric. My only 12-string was one half of my Danelectro doubleneck, and I was finding it too cumbersome. If I ever fancied playing 12-string, then the doubleneck was too much of a pain to play for extended periods of time. I suppose it's a stage guitar really, rather than one for playing around the house or for recording.

This Stratocaster XII, however, is the business. The neck is actually thinner at the nut by a whole millimetre than that of an American Standard Strat. It wouldn't be to everyone's taste, but for me this means it's an ultra-playable twelver. The extra-wide necks on 12-strings was one thing that always put me off. I did consider a Rickenbacker as an alternative, by the way; I've played Ricky XIIs in the past and they play fantastically (although personally I'm not too fond of the design), but the Stratocaster XII was more suited to my budget.

If you look at Fender's website you'll see that this model is only offered in three finishes: sunburst, lake placid blue, and Burgundy Mist Metallic. However, mine, as you can see in the picture, is Candy Apple Red. A quick check of the serial number (Q + 7 digits) reveals this guitar was made by Fender Japan between 2002 and 2004, so it could be a discontinued colour or else a Fender Japan guitar not intended for export.

So... Does anyone want to buy a Danelectro doubleneck? Seriously. I'm looking for £300 GBP for it.

I went to see Gary Moore last night. Blimey, I don't half feel inadequate as a guitarist now. Nice to see his old Thin Lizzy chum Brian Downey on the drums too. Also, the support act were top notch too - a blues guy called Otis Taylor and his band (including his daughter Cassie on the bass) playing what they call "trance blues". I've been listening to his latest album "Definition of a Circle" and have been really digging it.

Guitar Record Set to Smoke On The Water: More than 1,680 guitarists broke a world record by playing DEEP PURPLE classic SMOKE ON THE WATER simultaneously yesterday (03Jun07).

Guitar Weekends

Back in March I spent a weekend in the Lake District playing guitar as part of one of these Guitar Weekends. Now despite being a total guitar nut, I'm not exactly the world's greatest player. I'm largely self-taught and have not learnt any theory over the years, so the idea of attending one of these courses seemed perfect. The course I attended was an "Improvers" courses. Other courses offered include a more basic one for "strugglers", or more advanced courses such as those for Blues and Django-style playing.

It was an intense course. We played all weekend up until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, with breaks for meals. The accommodation and food was absolutely top-notch. It was great to play in a group situation with others and to learn some of the techniques of rhythm and lead playing (we each had spots at taking a solo), and to learn some of the music theory behind it all: how to ascertain which key a song is in, how to apply the understanding of scales and how to solo in that key.

It was so good that I'm considering going again!

BTW, guess which one of the chaps above is me? (Older readers of this blog will probably recognise my guitar).

Here's an eBay purchase from earlier in the year.

As older readers will know I am quite interested in guitars with reduced numbers of strings, and am a fan of the baritone ukulele which is tuned the same as the first four strings on the guitar.

I was intrigued to try out a similar electric instrument, and I got a good deal on this Soares'y tenor guitar. However, I found the sound to be too bright for the usual DGBE tuning, so have been experimenting with open tunings on it and also trying to teach myself a little slide.

Soares'y Guitars website

I'M BACK!

Apologies to everyone for the extended hiatus. I was just having a longer-than-usual lunchbreak. But now I'm back to compete with the multiplicity of Guitar Blogs that have sprung up in recent times.

So, what's new, you're asking? Well I'm not going to try to catch up with all the news I've missed out on in recent times, other than to mention in passing those fantastic Japanese 12-necked guitars which are in fact art works by Yoshihiko Satoh, the guitars made from hemp, and the news that Ovation have returned to the solid-bodied electric market with their exciting new hybrid electric/acoustic VXT guitar.

Oh, and I see there's another Jimi Hendrix Strat up for auction!