Zoom H2n

Happy Cyber Monday! I know I am not the first person to offer a holiday gift guide, but I plan on approaching it from a slightly different angle. For starters, ask your self a few questions about the guitarist on your Christmas list. Are they in an active band? What Kind of music do they like to play? Do you ever listen to them and think “That is just noise!”? Are they more traditional? Would you consider them “Artistic”?

Answering these questions will point you on the right track to finding the perfect gift for the guitarist on your list. To help the decision making along a little more I have a few suggestions based on the questions above.

Capturing Ideas -

If the guitarist on your list is in an active band, almost anything from strings and picks

Zoom Q3 HD

to a new guitar strap would be a great gift. But let’s look at this from a different point of view. To be a successful band you need to have great songs and a rabid fan base, so how about a way to record your ideas? Two suggestions come to mind for this. The Zoom H2n audio recorder and The Zoom Q3HD Video recorder.

When you have a band, the best way to improve and write more material is to record yourself. The Zoom H2n is around $199 at most retailers is an updated version the Zoom H2. It is easy to use and has great mics. I use mine to capture ideas on my acoustic or electric guitar. What I have learned to do is talk through what I am doing and how I am playing it so when I listen back, I can reproduce what I recorded. Another way I use the H2 is to record face to face interviews for my podcast. Since the Zoom has multiple mics, you can set it to record from both the front and back mics at the same time and set the reorder between the people who are talking. Once you have your recording you can easily transfer it to your computer (Mac or PC) via USB.

The Zoom Q3HD has the same great audio recording that the H2n offers PLUS it adds HD Video. Street price is normally $299. The bonus to this unit is that you can shut off the video and use it just as an audio recorder. I used one recently to record some video at a guitar show. You can see the videos on my YouTube Channel.

Creative Ideas -

A new piece of gear can sometimes stimulate the creative process for a musician, even

Spider Capo

a small one. A couple years ago I discovered a few special capos that let you get more than the standard capo. One that I really Enjoyed is the Spider Capo. The Spider Capo retails for around $30, which is pricey for most capos, but not for this one. What the Spider lets you do is Capo individual strings in any combination. Think of it as being able to re-tune your guitar on the fly. Add in some open tunings and the possibilities are endless.

Another capo that I found unique was Bob Kilgore’s Harmonic Capo. What this capo does is play a constant harmonic at the 12th fret. Musically it adds a great ambiance to what you are playing. At $34.95, it is again more than a regular capo, but for what it does musically it is worth adding to the capo collection.

Make Some Noise -

If you have a musician on your list that makes music that sounds more like “noise” to

Boss Feedbacker/Booster

you than music, then a new effects pedal would make a great gift. Boss recently introduced a new pedal that will let you add feedback to your sound at any time called the Feedbacker/Booster (FB-2). I am really happy to see this pedal come to market. The last pedal like this was the DF-2, Super Distortion Feedbacker back in the 80′s. I am on a quest to find one, and the FB-2 just might delay that quest.

For some serious noise and tones that no one will be able to duplicate look to Death By Audio. Death by audio came to my attention through a Guitar World article a few years ago. These pedals are custom made and very unique. Take some time to explore the site and listen to the demos to find that perfect pedal. These pedals are at the top of my wish list.

The Every Day Gift -

My last gift idea is a twist on something that guitarists use every day, the guitar pick. Why not do something unique and get the guitarist on your list their own custom guitar picks from Clayton Custom. A buddy of mine at work ordered custom picks to announce the birth of his son, which I though was a pretty cool idea. You can do everything from simple text to custom graphics.

Happy Holiday Shopping!

Fender's Pawn Shop '51

If you are a regular reader of this blog you are probably aware of the fact that I am a huge fan of Fender guitars. So it will probably come as no surprise that when I heard about new Pawn Shop series that I had to try them out. The concept of these guitars is to create “mash-ups” almost of guitars that never existed but “should have” in Fender’s opinion. The concept really is a cool idea and it shows that fender knows where their strengths are. In the past Fender has made some attempts to be ultra modern and have sleek designed guitars, but with little success.  The Pawn shop series does what fender does best and that is be “retro” cool.

There are three designs in the series, the ’51, the ’72, and the Mustang Special. Each one has a unique appearance and a different approach to tonal selections. And thes best part is they all have a street price of  around $799, so not only are they unique, but they set you back too much more than a standard Strat would.

Let’s start with the Mustang Special. It has a classic 60′s/70′s appearance and has retro slider switches for the pick-ups as well as the traditional toggle switch. The slider switches control the coil selecting of each of the pickups giving you a lot of tonal options. I had the opportunity to play one at a local chain store. While they don’t set up their guitars that well any more, this guitar still played and felt great. The tonal choices really were staggering. I was amazed at how many sounds I could get of the guitar, from warm Jazz to brash Rock. It is a very versatile instrument.

Next let’s talk about the ’72. I will admit, I really had no interest in this model at all. The owner of my local music store talked me into trying out, and I have to say that I was impressed. It is a Strat style semi-hollow body and has a rosewood finger board, two things that I don’t normally care for, but the sound was great. It has two humbuckers and a what appears to be a volume and tone control. The catch on this guitar is that the Tone control is not a tone control, it is a fader for the pick-up selection. I am not aware if this had ever been done before, but what a cool idea. You can really blend the pickups and dial in a specific sound.

Last, let’s talk about my FAVORITE of the three, the ’51. This guitar caught my eye from the moment it was released. It looks like a mash-up of the ’51 P-Bass, the Telecaster, and the Stratocaster. It has the traditional angled single coil Strat pick-up, but instead of being in the bridge position, it’s in the neck! And boy was I delighted to see a humbucker in the bridge position!! I absolutely love the sound of bridge humbuckers and this one sounds great. And Fender equipped it with coil splitting so you can still get that classic Strat sound, and get the benefits of having a humbucker.  Like the ’72, the ’51 also has only two knobs, a volume control and three position pick-up selector knob. What I love about this guitar is it’s classic simplicity. No frills, stripped down features, but still great tonal possibilities. I could hear very distinct changes in tone when I changed the pick-up selector and I was pleasantly surprised with the sound of the neck pick-up. It was very warm and smooth, great for jazz, or for when you just want a bigger sound. Overall I think the ’51 is a great guitar. So much so, that I am starting to gather up old gear to sell so I can make room (and raise funds) for one.

The bottom line for me is that all these guitars offer something unique from a tonal perspective, and would be a great addition to your collection. I cannot wait to get a ’51!!

Guitars ready for assembly at the Martin Guitar Factory.

A couple of years ago my wife bought me a guitar for our anniversary that fulfilled a lifelong dream, to own a Martin Guitar. I had wanted a Martin guitar for many years, but there were two instances in my life where that desire significantly increased. The first instance would have been at the Nashville NAMM show in the mid to late 90′s.

It was my first ever NAMM show and needless to say I was a kid in a candy store. I was on sensory overload the whole time time I was there. It was amazing to see so many guitars and gadgets and before the public got see or them! After a while I was quite tired and needed a break so I decided to stroll to the Martin booth to relax and take in the sights of those beautiful instruments. I got the booth and was walking around when it caught my eye, a D-28. And not just any D-28. A Kingston Trio edition D-28. So at this point you are probably scratching your head and thinking to yourself: “Isn’t this the guy that interviewed GWAR, Suicidal Tendencies, and the Misfits? He listens to the Kingston Trio?”. The answer to both those questions is yes. My Mom raised me on a steady diet of The Beatles,The Beachboys, and The Kingston Trio, with 50′s and 60′s pop and folk mixed in for seasoning. I am still fan of that era of music and have been listen to the “Decade” channels on XM that feature the 50′s and 60′s quite regularly (You can read about that here). Being able just to hold and play the Kingston Trio model D-28 was dream come true in itself, and that moment solidified to me that I someday would own a Martin guitar. Even in that noisy environment you could hear the tone ring true.

The second instance happened in October 2007 when I got the chance to tour the Martin Guitar factory. My friend Chris was getting married in Allentown, PA which just happened to be very close to Nazareth, PA. Since it was so close, we decided to take the tour of factory the day before the wedding. I have to admit, at first I was a little disappointed. I expected to see rows of benches with skilled craftsman building a guitar from start to finish. What is discovered was still a large group of skilled craftsman, but each on did a single task. As I learned in through out the tour Martin had found a way to combine old world craftsmanship with assembly line efficiency. By the end of the tour I went from disappointment to awe and respect. What they were doing there was truly amazing, and seeing that process re-kindled my desire to own a Martin.

Fast forward to May of 2008. The quest for a Martin was in full swing and after our wedding anniversary my wife and I were visiting my favorite guitar shop in Pittsburgh…. Pittsburgh Guitars. We walked in and I saw them… a wall of Martins. Two guitars caught my eye, an HD-28 and an HD-28V. After playing both extensively, getting the in’s and out’s on each guitar from Carl (the owner of Pittsburgh Guitars), and some encouragement from my wife, I went with the HD-28.

The guitar has a tone like no other. it sings and it is loud. After buying the guitar I decided that I wanted to know more about the dreadnought design and how it came to be. I learned that the dreadnought was the biggest guitar that Martin had ever made (at least at the time it was) and was named for a British Battleship. The guitar design came about as a necessity. Singing groups were becoming larger and louder and the guitars of the time just could not keep up. The martin company solved the problem by inventing the dreadnought guitar. It was a longer neck and larger body than any of the guitars at the time and it had the ability to project like no other guitar. Despite those advantages it was not a hit at first. It took a few years before it caught on, but once it did, it became one of the most copied guitar designs of all time.

So you might be thinking to yourself, “Well, sure it was loud for the 1930′s, but it couldn’t possibly hold up to today’s standards”. Well, I am here to tell you that it still holds it’s own even against today’s modern amplification. I play in a church group and one day I showed up to rehearsal with my Martin, and no amplifier. Everyone in the group looked at me with concern. They all felt there was no way they would ever hear me. I smiled and told them that I just wanted to test something. After rehearsal everyone in the group just smiled, shook their heads, and uttered the same phrase: “I cannot believe that I could hear you better than I could hear me, and with no amplifier”.

When the Martin family conceived the Dreadnought idea I am sure they had no idea what the impact would be on the acoustic guitar in general. The dreadnought has to be one of the most copied designs in the guitar industry. So much so that everyone ho has an acoustic guitar line has a “Dreadnought” style guitar. It has almost become like “kleenex”.

Even though every guitar maker makes a Dreadnought, there is still only one Martin guitar. And no one makes them quite the way the Martin family does. Thank you Mr. Martin. Thank you for having the vision to design the Dreadnought, and thank you for passing on the tradition of guitar making from generation to generation.