Here's a niggle to the question I asked earlier about non-US guitars: Strings! I… don't actually know where strings are made and who makes them, but the brands that I do know from my music store are all US brands: Martin, Ernie Ball, and so on. Are there even guitar strings being made closer to home?

This is the sort of thing that you don't really see but that are all around you.

Guitar of the Day #guitar

Zu Ostern gleich zwei Eier im Körbchen!
The DOUBLEDOG.

Eine Replik der berühmten „Stairway to heaven“ Gitarre in der D.O.G. Version.
Von der deutschen orthopädischen Gesellschaft wärmstens zum Muskelaufbau empfohlen

Guckstu hier: https://d-o-g.biz/de/double-neck-guitar-doppelhals-gitarre/

FROHE OSTERN wünscht das STONE PROG Team!
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#progressiverock #stoneprog #rock #progrock #music #prog #progressivemetal #classicrock #hardrock #rockmusic #vinyl #guitar #metal #vinylcollection #festival #heavymetal #artrock #progressive #guitarist

Gábor Szabó – Spellbinder (1966, Hungary)

Our next spotlight is on number 1038 on The List, submitted by miblo.

This was the first album submitted after I pointed out we had a suspicious lack of albums released in 1966 on The List. And now, listening to this album for the first time, it strikes me that on it is a cover of a single from 1966 first released by another artist we added to The List to fill the 1966 gap, Cher, the track being “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)”.[1] So, because my mind wanders, that made me want to know if there were other 1966 albums with this track. And, indeed, though it doesn’t appear again on any of The List albums, at least a handful of other artists covered it in 1966 including, of course, Nancy Sinatra’s version on How Does That Grab You?, as well as Stevie Wonder’s on Down to Earth. Also, rather interestingly, the song seemed to cross language lines pretty quickly, covered within 2 years of its initial release in French (by Sheila), Italian (by Dalida), Serbo-Croatian (by Đorđe Marjanović), and Chinese (by Betty Chung). Perhaps it is my age, but this strikes me as odd, as, even in the digital age, there is typically a lag between the release of a song and covers, especially covers making it onto LPs and into other languages. Friends of an older vintage than me, was this a normal thing to happen with songs at the time? Or did this song in particular just knock everyone’s socks off?

Anyway, I digress! This album and Szabó’s playing is, well, spellbinding! This is the second of three albums the Hungarian guitarist released in 1966, showcasing his signature mix of pop and jazz standards with the sounds of his homeland. Included is Szabó’s original composition “Gypsy Queen”, perhaps better known via Santana’s cover on their 1970 Abraxas (as a medley with a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Black Magic Woman”), an album that would later make the “official” 1001 list. Spellbinder and Szabó in general greatly influenced Carlos Santana’s music, particularly Santana’s shift from pure blues rock to “crossover” jazz fusion. And yet, none of Szabó’s 20+ albums are on the official list. Well. That’s why we’re here.

Happy listening!

• Songlink: Gábor Szabó – Spellbinder
• Discogs: Gábor Szabó – Spellbinder

1. The track is on Cher’s first album released in 1966, The Sonny Side of Chér, not the second one which we have on the list, the s/t. ↩︎

So I did something completely different tonight for a change. I killed all the music playing in the living room, picked up my #guitar after months and started playing whatever came to mind, looking up chords for songs as needed. I zoned out so much that my beer became warm. Some observations:

-Most Guitar chords sites are garbage (JS-locked, full of ads, paywall, etc)
-Writing down chords on a notebook is a must.
-You *can* make beautiful things. Don't overthink; just go make them.

I'm just going to say it - for the average #guitar player, #Epiphone is the new #Gibson. The new Gibson is only for touring professional musicians or lawyers who want to hang something in their office. Meanwhile, #PRS has been heading the opposite direction and have never been more affordable, especially since their SE line is so over the top excellent right now.

The new 6-track rock EP by Cinema Stereo is superb.

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/cant-get-close-enough-ep/1804442004

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2lmZHsFw6cSc8KgeC1GSd7

A wee bit of Easter #guitar (re)search this afternoon gave me new food for thought & so maybe brought me further from a decision

This is the Bristol & Blueridge version of the exact same guitar (except for the cutaway) - the Bristol one was already growing on me, but at just shy of 2x price the Blueridge does sound better

Since New Job made me filthy rich by my own standards & it still isn't an expensive instrument, maybe I don't have to be the "cheap guitars" guy this time...?

Permettez-moi de vous offrir une version studio-live de la pièce Reclamation de notre album Calamity !

Je joue sur cette pièce une des parties de basse de l'album dont je suis le plus fier et ça me fait plaisir de pouvoir vous la partager sous ce tout nouvel angle.

J'en profite cependant ici pour rendre hommage à mes comparses From Dying Sunsiens ! Ça n'aurait pas été possible de composer cette ligne de basse sans la musique de Mathieu (dans ce cas-ci, mais aussi parfois Antoine !), qui offre avec chaque pièce un terrain de jeu plein d'opportunités musicales, et ma contribution ne serait pas aussi efficace sans l'assise rythmique métronomique de Maxime et la propulsion atomique d'Antoine. Lorsque vous viendrez nous voir jouer (bientôt !), vous constaterez aussi à quel point Mathieu apporte l'ensemble à un niveau supérieur avec sa voix et sa fougue contagieuse. En vérité, il mériterait son propre vidéo de playthrough !

Je dois aussi mentionner le travail de Mathieu R.-L. pour la production entière du vidéo !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV6HFl4Kop4

A friend loaned me his Twin Reverb 65 Reissue - with 3/6db attenuators. For two days.
#guitar #GearSquad

"Up above my head
There is music in the air"

Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Up Above My Head: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeaBNAXfHfQ

#RiseUp
#JukeboxFridayNight
#Gospel
#guitar

I know things are bleak at the moment, but just remember, you can abuse an analog synth as a fuzz pedal and play "somewhere over the rainbow" on guitar into it

You really need to use a noise gate for this or have way better technique than I have.

the Ibby restoration goes quite well. New fixed bridge installed to make up for the absolutely wrecked one, all the hardware replaced with close to as original as possible parts as we could find, and the neck restored. Tech is having some issues with the frets but nothing he can't handle.

So the next question--what the hell should I put in her for new pickups?

It's an #Ibanez RT line, Japanese production. I've got metal shredding axes all over my studio, so I don't really need to stress that sound. That said, I do like high gain, with a bit of a punch and oomf. Wanna stay passive as we don't really want to go carving more cavities in the body after all the dancing around we had to do to get a new bridge installed.

So, #Guitar peeps; Thoughts, suggestions?
For recs, please include links to audio samples as well as to the product pages of pickup manufacturers.

Much love and thanks!

#introduction

Hey there! I’m a Software Engineer who loves understanding how everything works. Big fan of aviation, video games, guitar, books, movies, and growing in my Christian faith. Most importantly, I’m a husband and dad to two amazing daughters who are my whole world. Here to share, learn, and connect—with a mix of tech brains and fun vibes.