Guitar Licks and Tips


You are here: Home / Blog

Jamplay is a great educational tool

by

Jamplay is a fabulous site for any level of guitarists. The video tutorials are simple and easy to use. If your looking for some songs that you’ve always wanted to play or just looking to add a little extra something to your own musical style then this site might be for you.

While reading my latest version of Acoustic Guitar I found one of those annoying flyers that come inside most magazine. You know the ones. They put them on the same page of an article that you are interested in and you always have to push it aside in order to read it. Man do I most of them … except for this one.

I was just about to rip it out when I started to quickly glance over it. It looked like most irritating flyers but something made me think twice before discarding it. I then got up, turned on my computer and went to the website. It came with a password so I decided to investigate a little bit further.

After signing up as a member of Jamplay and inputting the free password that I found on the flyer, I came across a number of interesting topics on this site. On some level the Product Reviews and Forums categories got me intrigued. Then I went to another area of interest, it was the Live Q & A Instructor Schedule. I’ve never ever used a service like this before and with time dwindling away fast, I then proceeded to checkout the tunes that they had in their View Archived News video lesson’s area at the bottom of the page.

I was very impressed at what they had there. They have split most of the lessons onto 3 screens for easy viewing. If you pick a certain video to watch, go down below it and look at the breakdown of the video. It’s a smart way to get a quick overview on what is actually on the video in a text format.

This is very important if you have only a limited amount bandwidth to use from your ISP(Internet Service Provider) package. There’s nothing more frustrating then having to pay for going over your allotted download levels. The video teachers on Jamplay were breaking down songs into small sections in such a straight forward way that would make it perfect for any guitar player.

Jamplay has this other area of the site called Jam Tracks. Jam Tracks provide background music so you can practice your soloing or chord progressions all in one place. The play list has 199 styles/genres to choose from so take your time. Near the bottom there are tabs, scales to use for practicing with it and a discussion section to explore. You can even download the songs, very nice.

So if you want to see what I’m talking about, go to Jamplay.com and register for membership. In the password column put in puffyshirt and go crazy. It allows you limited area’s of the site to go and it’s only a free membership for 7 days but it’s worth it. If you do get a full membership, come on back and tell us what you think about it.

Keep on Jammin’





The Spider Capo By Creative Tunings

by

The Spider Capo by Creative Tunings looks unlike any other capo that I have ever seen. It looks like a very sturdy device to use and it certainly has many applications at it’s finger tips. I myself have not used a partial guitar Capo before but I’d love to take the Spider Capo out for a spin. It may look like something that a band from the movie Mad Max uses, but it’s very functional.

creative tuning spider capo

I first came across the Spider Capo in my Acoustic Guitar(AG) May 2010 issue on pg. 29. They say that the six rotating levers (Creative Tunings refer to them as Fingers) maybe a little bit delicate to get use to, but it definitely appears to be worth getting use to. The Fingers are also fine tune adjusters as well.

The Spider Capo is made to support any type of guitar, either acoustic or electric, that you play on. The adjustable side arms accommodates any guitar neck width with dense leather pads that will save the finish on your guitar neck. There is also comes a banjo version as well, very cool!

creative tunings spider capo The Spider Capo has the capability to capo each individual string as well as to used as a regular capo. Imagine being able to not only play in front of a capo but behind it as well! It offers the guitarist the selection of multiple tunings that can help you develop a big, full colourful sound. This is something that really gives me unlimited enthusiasm for this accessory.

My favorite example of what it can do for you is in the video from Brian Gore. It’s when he is performing Fringe Hinge. It has unmistakable echos of the Great Micheal Hedges to it. In this video Staffan uses 2 Spider Capos on his guitar at once.

Pay special attention near the end of this piece where you can see him adjusts his top capo on the fly while playing the tune. You can hear the chord changes that he shares with us during a difficult part in the song. Tell me you wouldn’t want to have that capability in one of your creations.

Being a guitarist who loves to provide a full tonal sound to the audience. If I had a Spider Capo, I would love to see what results I would have with it, particularly when playing certain melodies in concert with open string accompaniment!

Their site is just chalk full of video and audio examples on how to put this futuristic looking capo into play. They call this section Performance Examples. Creative Tunings provide us with tons of cases here that will enhance your own distinctive style of guitar performing.

If your not quite sure on how the Spider Capo works, then check out this link and go through the intro tutorial. It will help you in how to use it into proper perspective for ya. Creative Tunings also provides us with a nice informative downloadable PDG file for sample tuning starters.

This unique guitar accessory has made me want to go out and pick this thing up! When I do, I’ll give you all a hands on description on how it works, stay tuned!

Keep on Jammin’

Adjusting your guitar Tuning Heads

by

Adjusting your guitar Tuning Heads/machines is another excellent way of keeping your guitar in tune. This is part of my ongoing series of posts that highlight how to troubleshoot what you can do to keep your guitar strings in tune and for good overall guitar maintenance.

Over the lifespan of your guitar, the tuning heads will vibrate and loose that snug fit they once had when they were brand new. This could be caused by many factors. For example putting your guitar into it’s case and carrying it around or accidentally dropping it from time to time could cause the tuning heads to loosen.

Just a side note here, one time I ran over my very old acoustic with my car! When I reluctantly opened it, it was fine and still in tune. Another great reason why you should always purchase a very strong guitar case!

One of the easiest way of rectifying the problem of loose tuning heads is by bringing out a pocket-sized screw driver, either a Flathead or a Philips will do, and tightening the screws that hold the tuning heads to the head stock. Sometimes companies use a hexagonal socket set or wrench. The most common size is 7/16 – 10 mm.

First tighten the Tuning Head mounting screws on the back of the headstock with your screwdriver, this is fairly simple. Remember righty tighty and lefty loosy! Now we can turn our attention to the front of the headstock.

installing guitar tuning heads This is when we bring out our socket or wrench set. By glancing down directly at it, locate the bolt which is on top of the grommet or washer at the base of the peg post on the front of the headstock. Now with either the wrench or socket set, find the right sized one that will fit tightly on the bolt. Here we will turn your tool very carefully to right. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN. To make things easy for you, remove the string that you are working on first.

You may have completely different tuning heads then the ones that I have just covered. Some tuners may be adjusted by just pushing the grommets back into place. Once again, remove the string that you are working on first. If there is only one loose, then you might as well take the time to check the other ones while your at it.

If you’ve attempted to adjust your tuners and your instrument is still going out of tune too frequently, then maybe you should replace them all together. I have never ventured into doing this before so it maybe wise to contact your local luthier for advice on this one.

If you have a head stock that is made of wood, it sometimes shrinks and cracks due to lack of proper humidity inside the guitar case. This is a fantastic reason to get a acoustic guitar Dampits for your acoustic or classical guitar! It’s also a great gift you someone. I strongly insist that you purchase this product. It helps keep the humidity levels just right so that the wood on your acoustic guitar stays intact.

I hope this post has cleared up any questions that you may have about this very common topic and hope that you find it useful.

Keep on Jammin’

Morpheus Droptune Guitar Pedal

by

The guys at Morpheus produce only two guitar pedal products and they are the Droptune and Capo. I am a big lover of those business’s use the motto that if you do something good then stick to it. It’s best to leave all the bells and whistle to somebody else because inevitably they will screw up a some point in time, probably more sooner rather then later. Today’s post will be about the Droptune Pedal.

From most of the reviews that I have been reading about the Droptune, most say that this product is VERY straight forward to use. Since most men are not all that inclined to read manuals, this is a big plus! It also doesn’t alter the quality of your sound that much. Some pedals are just plain brutal in this area.

On the back of this pedal, it comes with a USB port for the latest update patches from Morpheus as well as a trim button for guitar levels.

The Drop Tune pedal allows you to change keys, or shifts the pitch of your guitar on the fly at the touch of a knob. Metal guitarists can get that heavy drop-tuned tone without dealing with that floppy string buzz feel that you can get when you tune down, you guys know what I mean.

This is a relatively cheap way to achieve this kind of effect. I understand that there are other products out there that are much more dedicated like the Robot Guitar, Tronical Powertune, the Line6 Varix or the Transperformance tuning system called the Performer but they cost much more.

I also believe that if your a singer/guitarist and your voice is a little bit raw from last nights’ show, here you can drop your guitar tuning a pitch or two for that song that is played in an higher vocal range without having to physically tune down your guitar. Also if your play in a theatre band that has songs that are constantly changing keys, this would be a very useful tool to have in your belt!

The only thing that I don’t like is that you have to use a power adapter instead of batteries.

So does anyone out there use this pedal? If you do, please drop us a line about the pros and cons of it.

Keep on Jammin’

If your interested in getting one then check out the link below!

The Morpheus Droptune

Meta

Pages