The best budget guitars, how to practice guitar with Guitar Pro, and lots of new music
Plus free plugins, and much more!
How’s it going this week? In spite of what any groundhog says, I’m optimistic we’re on the way to slightly warmer weather, and being able to get back to enjoying live music very soon.
You might find this week’s issue is gear heavy, because there’s just so much new and exciting stuff coming out. We also have some new music to talk about, and a couple of lesons I found helpful. Let’s get into this week’s links!
TNB: Big Muff, Elk Fuzz, Gretsch ContoFuzz, DOD Grunge, Guyatone, Super Fuzz, Ibanez Standard Fuzz - I loved JHS pedals teaming up with Reverb to start the new series, Totally Normal Behavior. The series sees Josh Scott and guests talking about everything that goes into pedal collecting, their mindset and more. I really had a laugh at the 30 minute timer that first guest Daniel Danger had to endure.
What’s So Bad About Noodling? - When you sit down to practice, you need to have a plan! But what if you find yourself in the land of noodling around? Chris Sherland tells us how we can turn into a “guitaracheologist” and make the most out of our noodling - the first step is being mindful you’re there in the first place!
Bending Like David Gilmour Is Painful - No pain, no gain? Ross Campbell makes the case that you should be listening to David Gilmour for epic bend licks, and incorporate them into your own playing.
Guthrie Govan Showcases his Signature MJ San Dimas® SD24 CM - Speaking of people who use bends to great effect, I was so excited to see my favorite guitarist get an update to his signature model. I’m talking about the Guthrie Govan MJ San Dimas SD24 CM. I love the finish and overall look of this guitar, and think it’s interesting that this one was made in Japan. I can’t wait to see Guthrie use this live.
Are €200 Guitars Any Good? (Best budget guitar) - But what if you don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on a guitar right now? No worries! Paul Davids takes a look at some budget picks that will absolutely not break the bank. Paul even ranks all 8 guitars he bought (and will be donating) at the end of the video - do you agree with his ranking?
The Sweetest Lead tone I’ve got from the Axe FX and FM3 [zendrive into Dumble] - Johnathan Cordy’s tone quest continues to inspire me. And if you’ve got a Fractal, I also found this video from Cooper Carter really helpful - which goes over how to use snapshots to save your progress when making/editing patches. Later in the week, Cordy put out a video talking about the benefits of practicing guitar every day, how everyone’s path is different, and lots of other great advice.
TOP 5 Chromatically CRUSHING Riffs - Last week we talked about Andy Wood’s video where he showed off Steve Morse/Ian Thornley/Petrucci-esque chromatic lead lines. This week Rabea Massaad focuses on riffs instead, as he recreates 5 crushing chromatic riffs. Some awesome bands here! My fav. was AIC, what was yours?
How To Practice Guitar - Using Guitar Pro To SUPERCHARGE Your Workout - In Levi Clay’s latest video he shows us how to use Guitar Pro (my favorite transcribing app) and some of the great looping and metronome features to get better during your daily practice routine. I just signed up for Levi’s new Patreon tier, and have been having a lot of fun going through the weekly workout - this video is a great example of why it’s so effective.
Learn ‘Message In A Bottle’ by The Police - an advanced riff you CAN learn! - I’ve always loved Andy Summers’ guitar work in the Police, and “Message In A Bottle” is one of the coolest, angular licks you can learn.
Red Hot Chili Peppers announce new album Unlimited Love, drop lead single, Black Summer - The new RHCP album is set to come out in April, and John Frusciante is back in action. The band just released their latest single, “Black Summer”. If you dig this song and the band in general, I’ve also heard that they have enough material for another album after this, with songs they really love.
Best free plugins for guitarists 2022 - Just getting going with recording? Check out Guitar World’s list of 10 free plugins that’ll help you with everything from amp models to saturation, modulation and more. Valhalla and Softube get an endorsement from me, as I’ve used their plugs over the years.
Gibson Makes History Again with the B.B. King Lucille Legacy | GuitarPlayer - I remember playing a Gibson Lucille a million years ago when I used to work in a guitar shop, and absolutely loving the way the guitar sounded and felt. I tried my best to channel BB, and that seems like what Gibson was doing too when they were working on the BB King Lucille Legacy. A truly beautiful looking guitar - and make sure to scroll down to check out the demo with Kirk Fletcher, another monster blues player.
Dave Grohl teams up with Liam Gallagher to co-write new track Everything’s Electric - It’s no Oasis, but I enjoyed this track that finds Liam Gallagher and Dave Grohl collaborating on a new track called “Everything’s Electric”. Full album is due out in May!
Extreme (Nuno Bettencourt) - 5 Killer Riffs - Leon Todd shows us 5 extreme-ly (I’ll see myself out) awesome riffs from Nuno Bettencourt. I’ve always felt like Nuno was one of the most underrated players of his time, and it’s very cool to see him continue to get his due all these years later.
That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading!
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