On finding that tone....

I'm always on the lookout for helpful hints on how to maximize guitar tone - found a great article by Dan Cross, a professinal guitarist and instructor living in NYC area. Dan got his musical education from Humber College and Mohawk's "Jazz Studies" program here in Ontario. Here's what Dan had to say about 'finding that tone':

One of the cheapest and easiest ways to tinker with your guitar sound is to experiment with different sizes and gauges of picks. Using a very thin pick produces a sound drastically different than using a heavy one. Many jazz guitarists tend to favour using heavy picks (1.5 or 2 millimeters) because it tends to thicken and darken up their sound somewhat. Thinner gauged picks tend to give guitarist's a brighter sound, although it tends to produce tone with a shade less depth (I personally can't stand really thin picks, but some people swear by them, as they feel it gives them much more speed). When choosing picks, be sure they are well-made, and the edges of the pick aren't unintentionally rough, as this can interfere with your ability to play notes cleanly. I have found Jim Dunlop picks to be of excellent quality, but there are many excellent brands of guitar picks available.

Matt, my fellow guitar player in MT, introduced me to these pics back in the summer time. They have definitely changed my approach to playing for sure. I used to float between using a 0.38mm and 0.60mm pic..i know... so many guys think I'm nuts but they work well for my style of rhythm playing. Tip: if you are using a thin pic like .38 use a single-holepunch and put a hole in the middle - you will rarely ever drop it!

Another easy way to alter your sound is via experimenting with different string gauges. A guitar strung with extra light gauge strings will sound completely different than the same guitar strung with medium or heavy gauge strings. The String Anatomy 101 website offers explanations of different types of strings. For links to various string manufacturer's websites, as well as online guitar string retailers, visit the guitar string links page on this site. (It should be noted that changing string gauges on a guitar generally neccesitates an intonation adjustment. You can learn more about how to do this by reading the Intonation FAQ.)

Yup - there's no question about this one. Thicker strings give better tone. I also migrated to a thicker string back in the summer. I was using 9's and moved up to 11's - it was a little too far - felt like I was playing with copper tubing on my fretboard - lol... so I went back down to middle ground with 10's and have been there ever since. 10's give enough flexibility without compromising the thick tone for the dirty stuff.

Making little adjustments to your guitar's setup, such as clamping down floating bridges, or adjusting pickup height, can also make a world of difference in the sound your guitar produces. If you own a Stratocaster, the Strat Tips website offers some great tips on how to go about making these adjustments, and what the "optimal" settings are. You'll find a ton of other ideas for tweaking your axe in the Guitar Repair Archive.

If none of the above procedures offer a tonal solution drastic enough for you, you can always consider replacing a pickup or two. The problem is, there are hundreds of electric guitar pickups on the market, and it's hard to guess what a pickup will sound like in your guitar until you've already bought it and put it in. The Harmony Central site offers an excellent resource; the Electric Guitar Pickup Database, a collection of reviews by guitarists, on specific pickups. The archive is huge, and chances are, you'll find at least several reviews of the pickup you're considering for purchase.

Sometimes, the best way to go about finding a sound that is right for you is to emulate someone else's guitar sound, and then, over time, make adjustments to it. Use the archive of famous guitarist guitar set-ups on this site to experiment with other guitarist's sounds, and try to evaluate what you do and don't like about each.

This should get you off to a great start in re-examining the sound you're getting out of your guitar. Remember - much of your guitar tone comes not from the guitar itself, but from the fingers in your fretting hand, and in the way you strike the strings with your pick. Adjusting the amount of pressure you're exerting, the type of vibrato you're using, the part of your finger that comes into contact with the string, etc., can affect your guitar tone almost as much, if not more, than any of the above suggestions. Good luck, and happy picking!

via

Empty Heart...

It's just a great idea. Skip and I were drivin down to Totonto to record back in the summer when he shared with me the idea behind the Empty Heart music ministry that started over 10 yrs ago. Skip was a part of the pioneering efforts of the ministry and gave me a copy of the EH series to sample. Empty Heart is seeing various recording artists come together, donate their recording time and efforts to create cd's to reach others with the gospel of Jesus. I'd like to share it with those that frequent the blog here because it completely defines what the purpose should be behind the music we create as followers of Jesus: drawing others closer to Him. I wanted to plug the idea just 'cause I think it's great and few people know about it. Here's some info right off the website:

Purpose:

To Create a series of recordings to blend contemporary music with compelling information about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

To provide an affordable, yet powerful tool for Christians to share their faith with family, friends, co-workers, and others.

Empty Heart cd's are available in a range of different musical styles, from Gospel to Jazz to Rhythm and Blues, to Light Rock. The Empty Heart series will continue to grow in multiple styles and languages... provies indiviaual Christians a new and dynamic way for Christains to share thier faith.

Please check out more on the Empty Heart series website... it's just a great idea.

Something special....

I call it the third dimension of a ministry band...

I've played in a lot of different bands over the years - some good, some not so good. In my time I've seen many two dimesional bands and few three dimesional ones. The first two dimesnsions are the skill and preparation required to pull off stage stuff well - technical stuff, which of course is vital to any good sounding group. But surprisingly I've played in few bands that can take the two dimesional image of the group and create the depth - that element of relationship and depth that turn the stage into somthing else I call a ministry... something special...

Some years ago I had played with a band called Pneumatika - a ministry band that travelled around Ontario with encouraging leaders and leading young people to know Jesus better. Great memories and changed lives - both for the kids and us... we had the chance to get back together and lead again... was really cool.

Got home late Sunday night from spending a weekend with a great bunch of guys and gals.
We left London around 11:00am on Friday to play a number of worship sets up at mbc during feb's jr.high youth bedlam event that ran until Sunday. To some it up: we had a fantastic time of practicing, playing, leading, and hanging out with sooo many kids... I had lost my voice on the Friday - not due to strenuous vocal activity but was the after fx of the flu I had the week before. Anyway, I litterally couldn't say a word all weekend... no singing... no laughing.... no talking. It was really frustrating at first but soon realized the importance of just being a part of a team without opening my big yap all the time. I realized the importance of listening well to other people - something I'm learning is so important on any team. Interesting: I was thinking to myself on the ride home in the van (cause I coulnd't talk yet LOL) about some of my fav. sports leaders and how little they say in the heat of the battle during games...hmmm... just made me think about the importance of 'taming the tongue' I suppose - a great weekend for me.

Got to hang with a cool band called hello kelly - a local canadian band with a sweet, sweet sound doing a good thing. They rocked out a concert after our Saturday night session. Man, check out the band - cool guys wiht a cool ministry. If you like OurLadyPeace you'll really dig the vocals and riffs in this band. Gear was cool: guitars were gibson and guitar players were usin' Crate and Mesa stacks - good sound... real nice guys too. If you get a chance to book 'em do it... very entertaining show. Had to laugh...typical guitar rockers: i went back to the board and looked at the levels a bit... I noticed the mutes were pressed on the guitar channels during the enitre show..lol. Eric the engineer just shrugged and laughed... those guitar players just wouldn't turn down for some reason lol... Man those guitars were reeeeaaaalllly loud! The venue provided sound basically to run the vocals thru..lol. Oh well, sounded great and the kids loved it... a great weekend. :)

Rock on...

hey everyone: check out Fatima Hoang, 2005 US Air Guitar Champion lol... Man, as u can tell, i love to search around for cool and funny things relating to the world of guitars, tone - well just about anything remotely related to the subject of guitar... I rarely come across something as hilarious as this... i think i got my head buried in the sand or something 'cause this made me laugh hysterically behind my computer screen for like 10 minutes (just don't get out much i guess). You just gotta check this out: There is a US National and International Air Guitar Competition... like this thing is huge. It even gets a spot on CNN when the annual US champ is announced... I must be just reeeeally Canadian or something 'cause man, this is hilarious! Here are the official rules of the competition:

- Each performance is played to one minute (60 seconds) of a song chosen by the performer or the event organizers
- The 60 seconds can start anywhere in the song
- The instrument must be invisible and must be a guitar, i.e. air drums are not permitted but air bass is permitted
- Personal air roadies are allowed, but they must leave the stage before the performance begins
- Back-up bands (air or real) are not allowed

The US regional heats will each consist of two rounds:
- Round 1: each competitor performs to a song of their own choosing
- Round 2: the top five from round 1 perform to a surprise obligatory song selected by the organizers
- The first round is performed to music selected by the contestants themselves
- The obligatory song is the same for every contestant ­ contestants will all hear the song before going on stage.

rules via

Check out these video clips - wanring: ur gonna laugh yerslef till ya pee!

Gibson's Guitar Hero (part II)

Well, it's official: Gibson's Guitar Hero PS2 interactive game will hit stores November 8, 2005. Haha - man it makes me laugh. I was wondering how exactly the game would work - like how to keep score and such. Well here's what I found:

Guitar Hero, which will come packaged with a special guitar-shaped controller, challenges wannabe rock stars to thrash to some of rock's most classic tunes. Like in dancing rhythm games, a sequencer will show gamers which frets to play and when to strum. The better the score, the more the cyber-crowd will rock out and the closer gamers will come to being a legend.

lol... the game also has a cool list of tunes by some very big bands - these tunes are, of course, not covers but have been customed for the game itself. A partial list of the in-game songs include (via):

-- Red Hot Chili Peppers - Higher Ground
-- Boston - More Than a Feeling
-- Megadeth - Symphony of Destruction
-- The Donnas - Take it Off
-- Jimi Hendrix - Spanish Castle Magic
-- ZZ Top - Sharp Dressed Man
-- Black Sabbath - Iron Man
-- White Zombie - Thunderkiss 65
-- Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows
-- David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
-- The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated
-- Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
-- Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water
-- Cream - Crossroads
-- Sum 41 - Fat Lip

The Gui-tarlet - custom crapper!

Had to post this... I had no idea that people go to huge lengths to customize their toilet seats! If I had my way I'd sit myself down on this sweet package - the Guitarlet. It's not a joke either - check out Jammin John's for yourself. Man, i guess rocks stars go crazy on custom toilet seats - like in the $100K + range - yikes...whatever. I've heard that this guy is a legend in the business of making cool toilet seats. Everyone wants to leave a mark...i guess...lol.