SwaggerTooth » guitar

Would You Watch This…?

Thrice B. Downs — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:07:19 +0000

…If I told you it is one of the greatest YouTube videos I have ever seen?

English guitarist Guthrie Govan plays a 5 minute solo in the styles of 20 famous guitarists. And look, someone has added a picture of each of them. Don’t scroll down if you want to see if you can name them all. Guthrie’s playing is so good, you might be able to tell with your eyes closed.

Eric Johnson, James Taylor, Pete Townshend, The Edge, B.B. King, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Albert Lee, Edward Van Halen, Al di Meola, Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, Zakk Wylde, Tom Morello, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Sonny Landreth, Jeff Beck, John Scofield, Jimi Hendrix.

Pete Townsend

Les Paul, 1915-2009

Thrice B. Downs — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:54:32 +0000

The world has lost another legend in 2009. Lester William Polsfuss, better known as Les Paul, has died today at the age of 94. He is best know as being the “Father of the Electric Guitar,” but his contributions to music are unable to be overstated. In 1936, he built one of the first solid-body electric guitars, “The Log.” (“It’s log, log, it’s big, it’s heavy, it’s wood.“) He later lent his name to what is now one of the most popular guitars in the world, the Gibson Les Paul. (Shout out to John Skilling, who owns a beautiful custom shop model.) He also pioneered the art of multi-track recording (for the uninitiated in SwaggerTooth Nation, this is the process of recording different instruments and parts at different times). This invention may be his most enduring legacy. Virtually all music heard today implements this process of multi-track recording. Being a guitar-guy myself, I can’t over-emphasize how important this man is to the world of guitar and the world of music is general.

Oh yeah, and the guy SHREDS. Check out this guitar solo in “World is Waiting for Sunrise” presented by Listerine.

New Guit-Box

Thrice B. Downs — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:47:15 +0000

I like to extend a warm SwaggerTooth/BrainTrust welcome to the newest member of La Familia de Thribbz, a 2005 Fender Fat Strat with Floyd Rose-licensed tremolo system! She arrived by mail while I was at work earlier this evening, so upon returning home from the Quarter, I was able to check her out. I cleaned her up a bit, but she’s in pretty good shape. I did manage to break the D string while fiddling around.

Great.

I’m gonna have to change out the pickguard and the lame modern-looking volume and tone knobs. (I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy.) Plus one tone knob was rotating funny, like a messed-up wheel on an old car. I had to rip it off only to find the previous owner had taped it up in a feeble attempt to repair a bent potentiometer.

Lazy idiot.

Here she is with her sisters