Getting James Hetfields Sound From Metallicas Black Album

By; Jimmy Rutkowski

Known for their versatile guitar sound, Metallica’s lead man James Hetfield uses everything from Gibson and ESP guitars to classical guitars. Here is an itemized listing of James Hetfield’s rig:

Guitars
· ESP Explorers
· Ken Lawrence Explorer
· ESP Custom Eclipse
· ESP JH-1 Custom V
· Gibson Explorer
· Gibson Les Paul Custom

Amplifiers
· MESA/Boogie TriAxis Preamps
· MESA/Boogie Strategy 400 Power Amps
· MESA 4x12 Recto Cabs
· Roland JC-120 Combo Amps (for clean sounds)
· Diezel VH-4 Heads

Effects and Accessories
· TC Electronics G Major Effects Processor
· MESA/Boogie Custom Graphic EQ
· MESA High Gain Amp Switcher
· Digital Music Corp GCX Switcher and Ground Control Plus Controller
· MXR Phase 100
· Digitech Whammy Pedal
· Electro-Harmonix Bass Micro Synthesizer
· Audio Technica 5000 UHF Wireless
· Furman Power Conditioners
· EMG 81 and 60 Pickups
· Ernie Ball Regular Slinky Strings
· Dunlop .88mm Tortex Picks

What I have below is a way to simulate James Hetfield’s tone for The Black Album, the fifth studio album from Metallica. For all distortion tones use a Metal Distortion Pedal and for all of your clean sounds use your amps clean tone. Metallica has a trademark sound. On your amp, turn the mids to 0 and turn your amps Bass and Treble knobs up between 3 “o” clock and 4 “o” clock.

The set up I have given here is a great place to start to get the sounds that are heard “The Black Album.”


A good Metal Distortion Pedal is essential for the heavy tone.

• The Boss/Roland Corporation product support group suggests the MT-2 for an extremely versatile pedal. There are a lot of parameters you can control with this pedal. It is great for just about any classic metal need.
•  If you are looking for a newer modern sound the Boss/Roland product support group recommends the brand new ML-2 distortion pedal. The ML-2 will give you more of a modern metal sound.

A typical setting you can use for the MT-2 is: Gain = 10 o'clock, Low = 4 o'clock, High = 1 o'clock, Mid Freq = 2.5 o'clock, Mid = 2.5 o'clock, Dist = 10 o'clock.

• ·The wah is necessary for the solos in songs like “Enter Sandman,” and “Don’t Tread on Me.” I would recommend a Dunlop classic Wah pedal.
• The chorus pedal will be used on the albums clean guitar tones such as in intro to “Enter Sandman,” “Nothing Else Matter,” and “The Unforgiven.” A couple of great chorus pedals to try is the Boss CE-5 Stereo Chorus or the Arion SCH-Z Stereo Chorus pedal.

10 Free Song Tabs From Guitar Edge Online Magazine

Got to love Guitar Edge Online Magazine. Every month they post 10 artist approved song tabs from Hal Leonard. Don't miss out on this months.

LADY ANTEBELLUM: Need You Now

ANDY MCKEE: Everybody Wants to Rule the World

U2: Sunday Bloody Sunday

ORIANTHI (FEAT. STEVE VAI): Highly Strung

SOUNDGARDEN: Spoonman

THEM: Gloria

SHINEDOWN: Sound of Madness

TESTAMENT: Over the Wall

JOHN LENNON: Imagine

RISE AGAINST: Hero of War

Rusty Cooley Test Drives His New Dean RC8

It's wild to watch someone like Rusty Cooley shred on a 7 string guitar let alone an 8 string. A couple weeks ago Rusty got his hands on his newest shred monster that he created with Dean Guitars the Dean RC8. Here's some footage shot by Rusty taking the RC8 for a test drive. In the second video Rusty plays "Prelude to Madness" with this massive axe.

Learn the secrets of the fretboard as Rusty see's it with his Rock House Instructional DVD "Fretboard Autopsy".

Links:

Rusty Cooleys You Tube

Rusty Cooley

Fretboard Autopsy from Rock House

Video of Testament's Alex Skolnick Performing With Rodrigo Y Gabriela

Alex Skolnick and his band The Alex Trio have been out on tour with the acoustic guitar sensations Rodrigo Y Gabriela lately. Here's a couple of fan clips of Skolnick performing with the acoustic duo. If you get a chance to go see this show you will not want to miss it.

Skolick who is also a Rock House Instructor has a new new instructional DVD coming out soon called "JAZZ GUITAR, Breaking the Traditional Barriers". It's available for pre-order from The Rock House Method right now.

Links:

The Alex Skolnick Trio

Rodrigo Y Gabriela

Rock House Jazz Guitar Instructional DVD

Gary Hoey on the Set w/Rock House EVH 5150 III

Rock House Instructor and guitar player Gary Hoey on the set w/ Rock House talks all about the Fender EVH 5150 III amp that he uses on tour. www.RockHouseMethod.com

Chimaira Denied Entry Into Russia To Perform Thier Concerts

Sometimes things are just beyond your control. You know what I mean, there's probably a real easy answer to a situation between 2 parties but without the cooperation of the the party it's just never going to happen. That's what has appeared to happen to Rock House Instructor Rob Arnold and his band Chimaira.

Seems Chimaira touched down in Europe a few days ago to do some concerts in Russia that they had to postpone last fall. According to the band, "everything has been in place for weeks now. The gear has been ordered, the flights have been booked, and we’re HERE, on the European continent, ready to depart for St. Petersburg". But after pouring a ton of money into the tour and much to their dismay, the Russian Embassy has refused to issue them their visas. After their road manager spent 3 days at the Embassy trying to find a solution and search for answers the band was, "basically given the middle finger."

The band truly regrets it but they have no choice but to cancel the tour. In a statement made on their web site http://www.chimaira.com the band states, "Our biggest regret is for the fans who have been waiting months for this weekend to come, and we hope they can understand that we’ve exhausted every option to correct the situation. Please accept our deepest apologies, we’ll try to make it up to you all one day".

Video's of Nevermore’s Jeff Loomis Live at Musikmesse 2010 Schecter Booth

It's a cool thing to go to the music trade shows, it's even more cool if you get to see someone like Jeff Loomis of Nevermore perform in a small raw setting. You know that you get to see and hear nothing but the pure talent that comes from the musician.

Here's a couple of clips from the newest Rock House Instructor Jeff Loomis doing just that at the Schecter booth at Musikmesse.

Alex Skolnick Jazz Guitar, 3 DVD Set for Rock House

Rock House instructor Alex Skolnick is world renowned for creating an unprecedented blend of Metal and traditional Jazz. in this 3 DVD set, his first-ever guitar instructional program, Alex shares his perspectives and secrets for conquering Jazz guitar. Pre -Sale Starts March 28, 2010 you can save money and download the first 6 lessons instantly before the product arrives. www.RockHouseMethod.com

Doug Wimbish and Industrial Radio Working On A New Midi Bass

Contributed by: Laure Mura

Doug Wimbish and Steve Chick at Industrial Radio have joined forces to create Doug's own model of Midi Bass. Born from a 24-year friendship between two masters at their crafts, the new baby will feature: a rock maple neck / alder body, coated with the dark blue / black transparent finish similar to Doug's signature Spector.

The new Midi Bass is under construction. Steve has informed us that he already cut the neck and fingerboard and they are next to be glued. He has picked out a perfect alder body blank, that will be machined up in the next couple of days and finished the electronics for the bass already so it should not be too long now until Doug receives his new instrument.

Doug, who is a long time Rock House Instructor will be posting pictures on his My Space upon arrival, along with an extensive specs sheet and a few words of introduction from Doug.

For those who are not familiar with the Australian based Industrial Radio Company, please visit them at:

www.industrialradio.com.au/

www.facebook.com/pages/Industrial-Radio

www.myspace.com/industrial_radio

http://twitter.com/midibass

ATREYU's New Music Video "Lonley"

ATREYU's new video for "Lonely" was exclusively released on Monster Energy's website www.monsterenergy.com yesterday.

Also, in conjunction with their video release ATREYU will be releasing "Lonely" to radio stations across the country this week.

The Orange County based band features Rock House Instructor "Big" Dan Jacobs on guitar.

Find more on ATREYU at www.atreurock.com or http://www.myspace.com/atreyurock

Jeff Loomis and Nevermore Announce Worldwide Release Dates For “The Obsidian Conspiracy” - Plus Cover Art Teaser

One always says that you can’t rush greatness or perfection, and this couldn’t be more true in the case of metal titans NEVERMORE, who last released the highly acclaimed This Godless Endeavor in 2005. The Seattle quartet have triumphantly returned with the much anticipated new full-length release, The Obsidian Conspiracy, which is what could be their most impressive offering of their illustrious decade plus, heralded career.

The Obsidian Conspiracy was recorded with renowned producer Peter Wichers (who previously worked with NEVERMORE vocalist Warrel Dane on his solo debut Praises to the War Machine). Longtime friend and collaborator Andy Sneap (Megadeth, Opeth) once again handled mixing duties. The album is set for June 8th North American release and May 31st European release.

The captivating and dynamic coverart was once again created by the great Travis Smith (Amorphis, Opeth) and can be viewed now at the video below.

This quintessential metal band was formed out of the ashes of Seattle, Washington, based thrash act Sanctuary in 1991 by Dane and Jim Sheppard (bass), with the addition of Jeff Loomis (guitar, who had played in the final line-up of Sanctuary) and Mark Arrington on drums. A few years later, Van Williams joined the band (drums). The band has since released six full-length albums, toured the world a number of times and captivated the hearts of metalheads touring with such diverse and major acts ranging from Megadeth, In Flames, Disturbed, Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgir and Children of Bodom, among countless others.

Check 'em at www.myspace.com/nevermorefans

Guitar Playing Tip - Coordination Problems While Increasing Hand Speed

One of the areas of playing that we get questions about the most is coordination problems between the pick hand and the fingers on the fret board. Unfortunately many times the problem of coordination between the two actually causes you to slow down.

The best way to deal with this problem is to concentrate on improving the weak link. By being able to realize that your left hand is slow you have half the battle won.

Now how to improve that problem!!

Speed on your fretting hands develops in small increments and requires hard consistent practice; you won't wake up one morning a speed demon.

Start with this routine EVERY DAY:

Scale Patterns: By practicing your scales in patterns of twos, threes, and fours forward and backwards you kill two birds with one stone. You get coordination built while generating scale knowledge and memorization. By knowing your scales by heart your fingers get memory that allows them to play fast passages with ease. It's like if you drive down a road you went down a thousand times before you know when the curves are coming and you know when to step on the gas, the same will hold true with your fingers through scales and leads.

Left Hand Isolation Exercises: These are a combination of Hammer-on and Pull-off exercises that only use the left hand to generate sound. You can find lots of these type exercises in my "Hands of Steel" DVD program if you don’t know exact exercises.

By doing a combination of these two things you will slowly but consistently build your speed up and soon both hands will be in sync and flying around the neck!!!

Hope this helps
John McCarthy

Roland - New Supernatural Pianos

Including the latest in SuperNATURAL® Piano technology and Ivory Feel keys, Roland is pleased to announce upgrades to key models of their home digital piano line.

The new LX-10F, DP-990F, RG-3F, and RG-1F digital pianos feature the new SuperNATURAL Piano sound engine, uniting Roland's state-of-the-art V-Piano® technology and 88-key stereo multi-sampling technology. This breakthrough sound engine delivers seamless variations in tone from pianissimo to fortissimo, decaying sounds that linger and fade naturally without looping, and authentic sound transition from note to note across the keyboard.

The RG-3, RG-1, and LX-10F also feature the natural touch of the PHA III Ivory Feel keyboards, which replicate the natural appearance, texture, and moisture-absorbing properties of actual ivory and ebony keys. The PHA III keyboard interacts with the SuperNATURAL Piano sound engine to reflect the subtleties in a musician’s playing,and delivers superior rapid key-strike expressivity. The DP-990 also offers a superior playing experience with Roland’s PHA II Ivory Feel technology with Escapement.

Additional features of Roland’s new home digital piano models:

LX-10F Digital Upright Piano
Offering uncompromised piano quality in a small footprint with an easy-to-use operation panel similar to that of the HP-307, the LX-10F is an attractive addition to any home, school, or studio.

DP-990F Designer Piano
Available in Medium Cherry, Satin Black, or Polished Ebony (DP-990RF), the DP-990F is a sophisticated, streamlined piano with amazing sound and touch that also serves as a functional piece of furniture.

RG-3F Digital Mini-Grand Piano
Perfect for homes, hotels, restaurants, and other environments that can benefit from a great-sounding, great-looking digital piano, the RG-3F has a newly designed, high quality cabinet, classically-shaped triple pedals, and an increased amplifier output over the original RG-3.

RG-1F Digital Mini-Grand Piano
This digital grand is perfect for players who desire high-end piano sound, playability, performance and the look of a classy grand piano.

For more information, please visit http://www.RolandConnect.com.

Boss Unveils The BR-800 Digital Recorder

BOSS continues its top-selling tradition of portable, affordable multi-trackers with the new BR-800 — a battery-powered studio to go. The sleek new design is made possible by touch-sensor switches and SD-card recording media. Up to four tracks can be recorded or eight tracks played back simultaneously, plus an additional stereo track dedicated to the built-in rhythm generator.

Whether you’re creating intricate, multi-layered songs or point-and-capture field recordings, the BR-800 makes the recording process fast and easy. Beginners will love the new EZ Recording mode that interactively guides you through the recording process. Other helpful features include the convenient RETRY function, which re-cues automatically to fix mistakes, and SONG SKETCH recording for instant, one-touch capture. There’s also a built-in stereo condenser microphone, plus a DR-880-quality rhythm generator for adding drum and percussion tracks to your songs.

Enhance your recordings with the powerful BOSS effects onboard the BR-800. Many of the effects are derived from BOSS’ flagship processors, including vocal effects from the VE-20, COSM® guitar/bass effects from the GT-10 series, and modeled acoustic-guitar body effects from the AP-1 preamp, which imparts pro-quality miked-up sound and rich body tone to line-recorded acoustic guitar. You’ll be amazed at how much processing power is built into this little recorder, and how excellent the effects sound.

You can power the BR-800 from the included AC adaptor, or for ultimate mobility, it can be powered from six AA batteries. Record anywhere! The BR-800’s USB compatibility enables a variety of functionality with computers. Connected to a PC, the BR-800 will function as an USB audio interface for recordings that utilize the internal effects. The BR-800 can also function as a control surface for DAW software.

No matter where you roam, you’ll never miss a moment of musical inspiration with the portable new BR-800. The BR-800 is expected to be available in May with an MSRP of $525.00. For more information, please visit www.RolandConnect.com.

Rob Balducci's Lick of The Week "Playing With Yourself Part 2"

Rock House Instructor and Favored Nations Artist Rob Balducci just posted a new Lick of The Week titled "Playing With Yourself (Part 2)". 

On Rob's You Tube site he states, " I like this exercise and it is a cool way of coming up with ideas and melodies and riffs. I suggest you try this and make sure to tape yourself so you can listen back. I come up with chords that I like and a key or mode and I just start improving etc... This is basically a C major progression C, G, F and I am messing around inside the C major scale." 

Be sure and check out Rob at www.robbalducci.com

 

Rock House Member Jim Shelp Video - Vernal Equinox

Rock House Member Jim Shelp a.k.a. Guitar Man Posted a wonderful video of him playing an acoustic piece he called Vernal Equinox. Jim stated on The Rock House Message Boards that he "decided to pull my acoustic out and dust it off last night. It happen to be tuned in an Open C tuning, so I fiddled around with it a bit and came up with that little ditty. I love listening to Steve and Kevin’s music, as well as everyone at RHM. Inspiring music and ideas!

We find you inspiring too Jim, well done.

Schecter Introduces 2 New Acoustic Guitars

Schecter Guitars is introducing 2 new acoustic guitars into their line up. The Royal and The Orleans.

For more info go to http://www.schecterguitars.com

Lick Library release Van Halen Guitar Tuition DVDs

Lick Library’s continually expanding archive of guitar DVD tutorials now includes Learn To Play Van Halen, Van Halen The Solos, Quick Licks Fast Rock in the style of Van Halen and Guitar Techniques Van Halen. Acclaimed author and guitar tutor Jamie Humphries presents the Learn to Play and Quick Licks in the style of Van Halen, and the legendary Lick Library co-founder and guitar tutor Stuart Bull presents Van Halen the Solos and Guitar Techniques.

For more info go to  http://www.licklibrary.com/

Rusty Cooley Clinic March 24th In Wisconsin

I received an email from Master Shredder Rusty Cooley late yesterday. The Rock House Instructor will be in Salem, Wisconsin tomorrow the 24th for a Dean Guitar Clinic. The Clinic starts at 7:00 PM and will be heal at:

Battle Axe GuitarWerks
27642 75th St.
Salem, WI 53168
262-586-5264 (store)

Marco De Cave Video For Andy James Solo Contest

Marco De Cave recently submitted his video for The Andy James Solo Contest.

If you're interested in submitting a video of you own you can get information for the contest  and rules at Intersales Music - LINK

Pre-Sale on Jeff Loomis' Rock House Guitar Instruction DVD "Extreme Lead Guitar"

Rock House announced EXTREME LEAD GUITAR the new guitar instruction DVD w/Jeff Loomis of Nevermore goes on Pre-Sale April 15, 2010. The 2 DVDs are packed with more than 40 guitar lessons, interview, live performances and much more. April 15, 2010 at http://www.rockhousemethod.com/

Marc Rizzo and SOULFLY New Song Lethal Injection

Via Metal Injection http://www.metalinjection.net/

A live bootleg of a new Soulfly song, Lethal Injection featuring Tommy Victor of PRONG on guest vocals.

Rock House Memeber Jim Shelp Shows Some Irish Love

Rock House Member Jim Shelp is such a versatile guitarist. He plays everything from metal to classical. Here's his St. Patricks Day tribute, his rendition of the classic "Danny Boy"

John McCarthy Talks About Increasing Your Guitar Pick Speed

I concentrate on the minimal movement with my picking hand. I did an in depth study of the best pickers, the ones with the most speed and accuracy (Al Dimeola and Yngwie Malmsteen to name a few) and found that they had very small movements made with the pick almost to the point that you could hardly see them picking!! I figured that this must be the key, the smaller the movement the less work you have to do to get results. I also found that most of them moved the thumb and index finger only when picking not the whole hand. This allowed them to focus on the small movements even better.

I developed exercises to help train myself to pick this way, here is one of them: When practicing scales or leads try to hold your middle, ring, and pinky fingers on the body of the guitar. Pretend that they are glued on the guitar! Now play the scales or leads leaving the fingers anchored down. This will make you only use the two fingers holding the pick to play. After playing this way for a while go back to your normal way of picking and you will feel the difference. This exercise will help develop the hand muscle that's to the right of the base of your thumb and make your picking stronger and more precise.

Hands of Steel from Rock House Method contains three separate workout routines, each designed to develop hand strength and coordination for optimum playing ability. Each routine contains a series of exercises that will take the students guitar playing to the next level. In just a short time with consistent practice, students will see huge improvements in their playing.

Michael Paget of Bullet for my Valentine on his Guitar Instruction DVD w/ Rock House

Michael Paget of Bullet for my Valentine on his Guitar Instruction DVD w/ Rock House. Check out Michael's video at http://www.rockhousemethod.com/

Rob Balducci at New Yorks BB Kings and Sam Ash in April

Rock House Method Artist/Instructor Rob Balducci has a couple gigs coming up in New Your City in April. The first stop for Balducci will be a Clinic at Sam Ash, sponsored by Ibanez. The will be from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM April 26th.

Sam Ash Music
156 West 48th Street
New York, NY 10036-1578

The big gig will be at BB Kings locate at 237 West 42nd Street in New York. Balducci will be joined by fellow Shredders Joe Stump and Mike Orlando for Guitar Evolution's Shred Fest Tour. Should be a huge night and a good chance to hear some of the best shredders in the business today.

In an email Rob Balducci stated, "Please show your support and come down to BB Kings on April 27, 2010. You do not want to miss this show! Tickets on sale NOW at http://www.ticketmaster.com/ and BB Kings http://www.bbkingblues.com/schedule Sam Ash /Ibanez Guitars and Xotic pedals are sponsor! All attendees to BB Kings will have a chance to win an IBANEZ GUITAR and Xotic BB pedal. You must be present at the show to win the guitar and pedal. Doors open at 6:00 PM Tickets are $15.00 and special VIP priority seating in limited quantity are available for $30.00".

BB Kings
237 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036-7211
(212) 997-4144

So You Want To Be a Better Guitar Player

So You Want To Be a Better Player
Goal Awareness and Practicing
http://www.rockhousemethod.com/
By: Jim Rutkowski

In this article there is no playing, just some advice from me to you. If you are reading this article it means that you want to be a better player. There is a simple secret to being the best you can be. It is effective practicing. Just playing licks and songs will not make you a musician. It's not effective practicing. Effective practicing is deeper than that. If you want to practice effectively you need to have a game plan. So let’s get you going on one.

First off, figure out your goals. Maybe its chord work, scales, or arpeggios. Make a list of things you want to improve on. Also, take a hard look at your playing, where are your weaknesses? We all have them. They are our own inadequacies. You have to deal with them as if they were little demons on your back. My own philosophy is to make my weaknesses my strengths. Then set a goal date, when you want to have your goals mastered.

Next, make a list of all your free time for each week for one month. See your schedule. Now, cut your free time in half. Be realistic, you do use the bathroom and hopefully you do eat too. Now look at the time you have and the goals you have. You may need to adjust your schedule, or modify your goal of how soon you want to master your goals. Reality is a cold hard fact; it takes time to make your goals come to be a reality.

Once you have set up your game plan it come down to effective practicing to achieve your goal. The key here is a metronome. I tell my students all the time that an hour of practice without a metronome is an hour wasted. The metronome will show you your weakness, your progress, and your breaking point.

So very often my private lesson students say “what speed should I set the metronome too?” The answer is simple. You want be able to play smoothly without mistakes. If you are making mistakes, you are going to fast, slow down. The marines have a saying; it takes 2000 times of repeating something to make it programmed into your memory. That means playing that G scale 2000 times will get you to master it. Playing it here and there a few times a month or a week is useless. It takes repetition and dedication to become a master over something. Think of it like this, how easy is it to write your name, and how easy is it to write supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? The answer should be obvious, your name is simple. Why, because you have written it god knows how many times. But when you were little it sucked trying to write it. But after doing it over and over and over again it became second nature, the same rule is effect for music. Practice is a dirty word to many students, but it is what separates us from the players who never really get better. Repeating that scale or that drum pattern a million times makes us masters overt it, we own it.

Now, just playing with a metronome a few times through is also about as effective as standing on your instrument while doing jumping jacks on it. Not very!! Here are some ideas I use to practice.

The Time Game

Ill take a 3-note per string scale and set the metronome at 120 and play 16th triplets. I also have a clock near by. I make my timed goal five minutes of perfect playing. If at four minutes and forty seconds I make a mistake, I restart my five minute goal. The goal is five minutes non-stop and perfect. This also builds stamina and it really tweaks your patience with yourself. There were times where 2 hours later I was moving on to the next exercise.

Missing Clicks

I count 4/4 time but if it was at a tempo of 120, my metronome is set to 60. The clicks are beats one and three. The missing clicks are beats two and four. This really makes you concentrate on strict rhythm playing. Keeping the feel even is very tough this way. I do this especially for practicing chord progressions and single note melody playing.

These are but just two ideas of things you can do to make your practice more interesting and more effective. But the key is to go slow, and to repeat, repeat, repeat, and then repeat some more. Talent really is direct reflection of your drive to play repetitiously until you need a shave!

Start out with these tips and give you some more ideas in the near future. But this is a great start to making you a better player.

Until next time, Keep Rockin’ N’ Rollin’!!!!

Professor Jim

Rusty Cooley Shows Off His New Dean RC8 Guitar - Video and Pics

I just got an email from Rock House Instructor Rusty Cooley. He said "Dude, check out my new Dean RC8", I took one look and said to myself said holy *hit that has to be one of the sweetest axes I've seen in a long time and it has Rusty's persona written all over it. Check out the pics below and then the video.

Rusty also told me that he is selling his Bogner Uberschall that he used to record all of the leads on Outworld's cd on Ebay... Ebay Link

Rusty also still has a few openings for students at the Rusty Cooley School of Rock for both in person in The Woodlands or online. Contact Rusty through http://www.rustycooley.com/

Now the pics of his Dean RC8

Kiko Loureiro Talks About His New Record Soon To Be Released

News from http://www.kikoloureiro.com.br/

Kiko Loureiro's band ANGRA has been finishing its new full length at Norcal Studios, in São Paulo. This new record will succeed “Aurora Consurgens” (2006).

Kiko Loureiro released an official note to tell everyone about all the band activities in studio, especially during his record sessions.

“These words are dedicated to ANGRA fans...It is a pleasure for me to say that we are almost finishing the new album of the band! The vibe in studio is great and I have recently recorded the guitars (base, solo and themes). It is finally done! At this moment I am doing my part on the acoustic guitars and composing two new lyrics. The entire work is really advanced and the result has been impressive. This will certainly be a great album that will present our various musical ideas, where the traditional balance of ANGRA mixed with artistic innovations will sound perfect.”

Kiko Loureiro

The new record, that is untitled yet, will be produced by the members and it is planned to be released in the beginning of June later this year.

Gary Hoey - Fender Clinics Announces for April 2010

Rock House Instructor Gary Hoey will be out touring in April demonstrating the new Fender G-Dec 3 Series Amplifier and American Special Guitars. The New G-Dec 3 features real backing tracks peformed by Gary and his band!

Fender introduced the G-Dec 3 this past January. The G-DEC 3 is available in 30-watt and 15-watt versions, the G-DEC 3 series takes an exciting leap forward in technology and content in that the world’s top artists and session aces created many of its 100 presets and audio performance loops—delivering genre-accurate, non-generic audio.

Further, both amps can be connected to your computer by USB to engage the exclusive Fender® FUSE™ software interface, which lets you customize your G-DEC 3. Fender® FUSE™ is the key to creating, connecting and configuring with your G-DEC 3 by downloading and uploading backing tracks; editing, storing and deep-editing the performance parameters of both amps, and swapping files with other members of the worldwide Fender® FUSE™ community.

Included in the 30-watt G-DEC 3 Thirty and 15-watt G-DEC 3 Fifteen are presets and performance loops by a diverse wealth of rock, blues, metal and country artists including Eric Johnson, Charlie Benante and Frank Bello of Anthrax, Def Leppard’s Phil Collen, Fall Out Boy’s Joe Trohman, Brad Paisley, Dweezil Zappa, Jim “Rev. Horton Heat” Heath, Keith Urban, Hatebreed, Nils Lofgren, Gary Hoey, Crooked X, bassist Tony Franklin, Strung Out and many others. Find out more about The G-DEC 3 at http://www.fender.com/

Be sure to connect with Gary if he comes to a location near you. You'll never forget the experiance.

GARY HOEY ON TOUR

• 
  
  04/06/10 Tuesday Gary Hoey in Allentown, PA Dave Phillips Music - Fender Clinic US Time: 5:00pm.
• 
  
  04/07/10 Wednesday Gary Hoey in Wheaton, MD Washington Music - Fender Clinic US Time: 6:00pm.
• 
  
  04/08/10 Thursday Gary Hoey in Catonsville, MD Bill’s Music - Fender Clinic US Time: 7:00pm.
• 
  
  04/09/10 Friday Gary Hoey in Virginia Beach, VA Alpha Music - Fender Clinic US Time: 5:00pm.
• 
  
  04/12/10 Monday Gary Hoey in Boston, MA Daddy’s Junky Music - Fender Clinic US Time: 7:00pm.
• 
  
  04/13/10 Tuesday Gary Hoey in Porstmouth, NH Daddy’s Junky Music - Fender Clinic US Time: 7:00pm.
• 
  
  04/14/10 Wednesday Gary Hoey in Concord, NH Strings & Things - Fender Clinic US Time: 7:00pm.

ESP Guitars announce Gus G."s new model

You probably already know that Firewind member (and ESP guitarist) Gus G. is now playing with Ozzy Osbourne. He’s designed a sweet new guitar for his new gig: the LTD Revolver EC. Based on the single-cutaway ESP Eclipse shape, this guitar is insanely cool and totally unique. It features a custom graphic finish along with custom “Gus Fire” inlays. Unlike most EC models, the new Revolver EC has a 25.5” scale with set through construction, and features a mahogany body with a maple neck (22 XJ frets) and rosewood fingerboard. It also offers Seymour Duncan Blackout ABH-1 active pickups, with a single volume control and an on-off mini switch. The Revolver EC uses black nickel hardware, including ESP locking tuners and a Tonepros TOM bridge and tailpiece.

As for the art design on the guitar, Gus wanted to go for something different this time. So he teamed up with Patric Ullaeus & Bjorn Johansson who came up with the graphic and the whole concept of "RockART".

Patric Ullaeus is an acclaimed director and photographer and among other acts, he has shot 3 Firewind videos and has also been the band"s photographer since 2006.

You can find out more about Gus G's signature guitar and Patric & Bjorn"s RockART by clicking below:

http://www.rockart.tv/

http://www.espguitars.com/

ROLAND SHIPS AC-33 ACOUSTIC GUITAR AMPLIFIER

Roland is pleased to announce that the AC-33 Acoustic Chorus Guitar Amplifier (http://www.RolandUS.com/Products/AC-33) is now shipping. Designed for both high-quality sound and supreme portability, the AC-33 is the world’s first battery-powered amp designed specifically for the acoustic guitar. It features instrument, XLR microphone, and AUX inputs, along with built-in digital effects, an anti-feedback function, an onboard looper, and an integrated tilt stand for enhanced sound projection.

With the ability to run on eight AA batteries (including NiMH rechargeable types) or AC power, the AC-33 is the perfect amplifier for acoustic performers on the go. The high-efficiency 30-watt stereo amp and dual 5" speakers provide excellent sound coverage for any intimate performance situation, including restaurants, coffee houses, open mic nights, street busking, and more. The multiple inputs allow the AC-33 to function as a portable PA, amplifying a guitar, vocal, and backing track from a music player all at the same time.

The AC-33 comes equipped with Roland’s famous stereo chorus effect, as well as easy-to-use reverb and ambience effects. For worry-free playing in high-volume situations, the unique anti-feedback function automatically detects acoustic instrument feedback and eliminates it before it starts. The onboard looper allows users to record and play back up to 40 seconds of on-the-fly musical backing, with the ability to capture unlimited “sound on sound” style overdubs. The looper and effects can both be controlled with optional foot switches.

The AC-33 is now available with a suggested retail price of $558.50.

Taylor Guitars Road Show 2010

Now in its fourth year, the Road Show brings enthusiasts, Taylor clinicians and experts straight from the company’s factory in El Cajon, California together for a lively in-store gathering. At each event, Taylor’s Road Show team shares insights on the company’s guitar making process and demonstrates how body shapes and woods affect tone. After the demonstration, players are invited to take part in the “Petting Zoo”: an opportunity to pick up and play a variety of different models, as well as rare and custom Build to Order models. Admission to each Road Show is free.

The 2010 Road Show tour will kick off at the end of March with multiple dates in Florida and Texas, followed by several dates on the East Coast and throughout Canada. Each Road Show attendee will receive a complimentary digital subscription to Premier Guitar magazine and while supplies last, TaylorWare gear and Elixir® strings. Attendees will have the chance to enter to win the grand prize, an opportunity to build their own custom guitar through Taylor’s Build To Order program.

For more information on Road Show dates and locations, please visit the official Taylor Guitars Road Show calendar at www.taylorguitars.com/roadshow

Video report of Rob Balducci's Clinics in Italy

Rob Talks about his clinics in Italy, the gear and guitars he has been using and he shows some pretty spiffy guitar licks.

Rock House Method On Demand Launched

Keeping the eternal light of technology burning The Rock House Method has jumped into the modern day era of delivering their award winning music instructional videos on demand. In other words you can now instantly download any Rock House program right to your computer.

Rock House on Demand is a new and exciting way to deliver Rock House Method products to you quickly and safely using an amazing new media system called MOD Machine.

Rock House Method On Demand downloads lessons directly to your hard drive so you can start watching in just minutes. We have worked dillegently to assure you get the same expirence as you do when you go into a store to buy one of our DVDs. You will get the entire product, tab book and all.

You don't even need to be hooked up to the internet to use your lessons. When you purchase a product, just make sure the entire product downloads. Then, you can take your laptop to a cabin in the woods, the beach or on an ocean voyage and watch any program you wish.

System Requierments:

1. Display resolution 1024 x 768 or larger

2. Reliable broadband internet connection

3. Quicktime 7

4. At least 1.5 GHz processor (Intel recommended), 1 GB RAM

You can download the MOD Machine for MAC HERE or for Windows HERE or go to Rock House on Demand for more info.

The Weekend Read For March 12th, 2010 - Gutar Lessons, Articles and More

Kind of light this week but some really good stuff to zip through.

Cameron Mizell - Guitarist - As the title suggests, that article is written for non-guitarists–people that have a lot of experience learning another instrument and simply want to play some guitar as well...10 Tips for Beginning Guitarists

Dolphinstreet Guitar Gear Blog - Here is a quick tip for those who are stuck in the pentatonic or blues scale, when playing blues leads. Try using the Major 6th (often guitarists will call it just the 6th...Use the Major 6th when improvising blues

Double Bass Blog - Worst gig story series...The limping neck – gig story from Deborah Lamb

Freekbass' Blog - A small handmade device that allows you the create very fast noise loops, by adding layers of sound in real time...Wicks Looper – Acid Mix 

Fretbase - Guitar amplifiers have come a long way since the early days of electric guitars. However, innovations in technology may not have made the impact on the industry that was expected...Guitar Tube Amps vs Solid State

Marks Guitar Blog - Recording great sounding guitar tracks begins at the source. If what’s coming out of the amp sounds like a turd, then whatever you do to it from there, will be at best a shiny turd...Recording Guitars

Share My Guitar - Guitar Players are often responsible for adding harmony and structure to a piece of music. Harmony, in essence as we perceive it in music, is a balance of one or more notes within the given musical environment. As we think of this balance in terms of musicality, we often overlook the need for balance in the physicality of playing. Without this awareness we open ourselves up for the dissonance to overthrow the balance of harmony and cause physical discomforts...Harmony & Amp: Healthy Hands

Have a rockin' weekend

Sarge

Anthony Lawrence of Rock House Sponsored by Brazen Guitars

Love it when things start going right for one of the member's of The Rock House Family. Our very own Anthony Lawrence has pick been picked up by Brazen Guitars (http://www.brazenguitars.com/). Anthony will be using Brazens Thorsen 7 string model. According to Anthony, " This is one  sick axe. If you've never played one I recommend you go to brazen.com and find a place that has them near you and try it out for yourself, its a neck thru and plays and sounds killer"! Check out Anthony's bio on The Brazen site, they did a killer job. http://www.brazenguitars.com/artists.html

Congrats from all of us Anthony!

Michael Paget and Bullet For My Valentine - US Tour Dates

Rock House Instructor Michael Paget and his band mates from Bullet For My Valentine will be touring the U.S. this spring to support their upcoming album “Fever” in stores April 27th. Special guests Chiodos and Airbourne will be joining Bullet on the road. Check out the dates below.

4/30 Worchester, MA Palladium
5/01 East Rutherford, NJ Bamboozle
5/02 Baltimore, MD Ram's Head
5/04 Atlanta, GA Tabernacle
5/05 Nashville, TN Rocketown
5/07 Dallas, TX House of Blues
5/09 Tulsa, OK Diamond
5/11 Phoenix, AZ Marquee
5/12 Las Vegaz, NV House Of Blues
5/14 Anaheim, CA The Grove
5/15 San Diego, CA SOMA
5/16 San Francisco, CA Regency Center Ballroom
5/18 Salt Lake City, UT Great Salt Air
5/19 Denver, CO Gothic Theater
5/21 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
5/22 Chicago, IL Rivera
5/23 Columbus, OH Rock On The Range
5/25 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom
5/26 Minneapolis, MN 1st Avenue
5/28 Grand Rapids, MI The Orbit Room
5/30 Detroit, MI The Fillmore

How To Change Strings on an Acoustic Guitar

Old guitar strings may break or lose their tone and become harder to keep in tune. You might feel comfortable at first having a teacher or someone at a music store change your strings for you, but eventually you will need to know how to do it yourself. Changing the strings on a guitar is not as difficult as it may seem and the best way to learn how to do this is by practicing. Guitar strings are fairly inexpensive and you may have to go through a few to get it right the first time you try to restring your guitar. How often you change your strings depends entirely on how much you play your guitar, but if the same strings have been on it for months, it’s probably time for a new set.

Most strings attach at the headstock in the same way, however electric and acoustic guitars vary in the way in which the string is attached at the bridge. Before removing the old string from the guitar, examine the way it is attached to the guitar and try to duplicate that with the new string. Acoustic guitars usually use removable bridge pins that fasten the end of the string to the guitar by pushing it into the bridge and securing it there.

Follow the series of photos below for a basic description of how to change a string. Before trying it yourself, read through the quick tips for beginners on the following page.

Use a string winder to loosen the string.

Remove the old string from the tuning post.

For each string, carefully lift the bridge pin and remove the string from the guitar. Set the pin aside and discard the string.

Remove the new string from the packaging and uncoil it.

Thread the end of the new string over the nut and place the end of the string in the groove on the bridge pin. Carefully push the pin back into the bridge to lock the string in place.

Pull the string along the neck and thread it through the small hole on the tuning post.

Hold the string in place just after the nut with your finger and tighten up the slack in the string with the machine head.

Carefully tighten the string and tune it to the proper pitch.

You can cut the old string off the guitar but you may want to unwind it instead and save it as a spare in case you break a string later.

Check to make sure you have the correct string in your hand before putting it on the guitar. The strings may be color coded at the end to help you identify them.

Be sure to wind the string around the tuning post in the proper direction (see photos), and leave enough slack to wind the string around the post several times. The string should wind around the post underneath itself to form a nice, neat coil.

Once the extra slack is taken up and the string is taught, tune it very gradually to pitch, being careful not to over tighten and accidentally break the new string.

Once the string is on the guitar and tightened up, you can cut the excess string sticking out from the tuning post with a wire cutter. The sharp tail end that is left can be bent downward with the wire cutter to get it out of the way and avoid cutting or stabbing your finger on it.

Check the ends of the string to make sure it is sitting correctly on the proper saddle and space on the nut.

New strings will go out of tune very quickly until they are broken in. You can gently massage the new string with your thumbs and fingers once it’s on the guitar, slightly stretching the string out and helping to break it in. Then re-tune the string and repeat this process a few times for each string.

Performance Tip - Singing and Playing Guitar at the Same Time

This is a common question many people have when they start learning songs. It's not as hard as you think to sing and play your instrument but it does take time, patience and practice. John McCarthy gives some insight on how he first started to sing and play guitar.

John says "it is hard to sing and play at the same time, I know because I went through a transformation from Guitarist to Guitarist/Vocalist and it took some time and practice".

"Here's what helped me through the process. I learned the guitar parts first because they were a little easier for me to master, then I memorized the lyrics to the song so I had it down cold!! Next I would try to walk around the house playing the song without paying attention to the guitar. I would try to talk to someone while playing the song or watch TV while I played. You must make sure that it becomes second nature to you".

Another tip John has is, "Try singing the song from different sections then than the beginning, like start singing at the second line of each verse. This will allow you to have the song totally in your memory bank.Then I would try to combine the two parts, it still won't be easy at first. However, it will became less difficult every time you start a new song and then all of a sudden it will be second nature".

Be patient everyone has the same hurdle to jump and the biggest stars had to go through the same process you will go through! 

You can get more tips from John McCarthy at www.rockhousemethod.com

Rob Balducci's Lick of the Week - Live at Bellus Music Belluno, Italy

Rock House Method Instructor Rob Balducci's "Lick Of the Week" is part of a live performance from a clinic that Rob is doing in Italy. Balducci states on his You Tube site, "The next few LOTW will feature some video clips from the clinic tour I did in Italy. It was such a blast and I had such a great time. I want to thank all of the Italian fans and musicians that came to the clinics, it was a pleasure to meet you all'.

The Favored Nations Artist and Ibanez endorser will also be playing BB Kings on April 27. You do not want to miss this show! Tickets on sale NOW at www.ticketmaster.com and BB Kings. All attendees to BB Kings will have a chance to win an IBANEZ GUITAR and Xotic BB pedal. You must be present at the show to win the guitar and pedal.

Access Rob's other "Licks of the Week" at http://www.youtube.com/RobBalducci and check him out at http://www.robbalducci.com/

 

Lick Library exclusive interview video with Orianthi

Press Release:

 

Lick Library guitar videos Stuart Bull interviewed Australian singer songwriter Orianthi at the music trade show NAMM in Anaheim, California. Orianthi discussed her most recent album ‘Believe’ as well as the music video ‘Highly Strung’ with Steve Vai, which was completed this year. She also goes into detail about the album making process and describes the Believe album as “definitely pop.”

In the interview, which is available on Lick Library’s site (http://www.licklibrary.com/news/2010/3/285-NAMM_2010_Exclusive_Interview_with_Orianthi), Stuart Bull asks about trying to balance the demands of record producers and a more ‘pop’ career, with her artistic freedom. In response she simply tells of her feelings gratitude that she is doing what she loves – playing guitar.


Orianthi was originally spotted and mentored by Carlos Santana and subsequently by Steve Vai. She is perhaps best known for the fact she was to be the guitarist on the recent Michael Jackson tour. She has also played with Prince, has featured on the film Bratz: The Movie as well as the Eric Clapton Guitar Festival. The Lick Library site also contains an interview with Orianthi from 3 years ago.

Lick Library, one of the world’s leading producers of guitar videos and lessons, was founded by Stuart Bull and Kim Waller. Their mutual passion for music lead to the creation of Total Accuracy – which produced backing tracks for guitarists to practice over. This developed into Lick Library – a resource relied upon by thousands of passionate guitarists, bassists and drummers around the world. Their stated mission is to “provide the best possible experience for musicians of all levels to learn their chosen instrument, benefit from the wisdom of world class tutors and interact with other musicians worldwide.”
For the ultimate range of tuition products, www.licklibrary.com has the comprehensive and definitive professional guides to learning to play the guitar.

Review of Pointless Picks for Guitarists

The name of the company is Completely Oblivious, Inc. The product, Pointless Picks. I came across the owner of this company, Doug Larson, by chance. He turned me onto a few of his picks saying “try 'em out and tell me what your think”, and I did just that.

Before I get to my review of Pointless Picks I want to tell you a little bit about Doug Larson. I called him after we exchanged a few emails. Doug came up with the idea for Pointless Picks from watching other performers play with the back side of their pick and from using many different types of round things to pick the strings on their guitars. Having an engineering back ground and about 30 years of guitar performing experience, Doug headed to his workshop in his barn and went to work developing the Pointless Pick. After about 5 years and dozens of trials and errors Pointless Picks were developed. The patented picks were launched at The Summer NAAM of 2007 where they won a best in show award.

Doug's mind never stops. The picks are made out of acetal which is a plastic resin. I asked him about different textures for the picks and he said he is looking to try and develop a cross hatch type of pattern to increase the grip of the pick in the future. He is also developing some new sizes of picks. So a smaller diameter pick is coming as well as a new product that he is developing for guitarist. I begged Doug to tell me about it. He really didn't want to say anything other than it will be the worlds most simply designed.....oh man that's all I can say. Doug did say when it's ready to be released The Rock House Blog readers would be one of the first to know.

Doug says the best thing about his pick is that “basically with no point to rotate, you can concentrate on your music and when you can concentrate on the music you give a better performance for your audience”.

REVIEW

I have to admit I was kind of excited to try these picks out. I've messed around with all kinds of things to pick with over the years such as coins, rings, skippin' stones, credit cards, pieces of shell and probably a few things that I shouldn't mention here. But, I had never tried a Pointless Pick. The picks come in 3 colors. Red is a .58 mm thick pick, Green is 72 mm thick and Blue is 1.0 mm thick. I could tell right away I was going to like these picks. I have turned a pick around on many occasions and used the smoother round edge of it (ala Leo Nocenteli) and the Pointless Pick was just like that only you didn't have to worry about it spinning out of your fingers or having to adjust it between your fingers while playing. The reason is because of a cool raised circle in the middle of the pick on each side that your thumb and index finger fit into giving you a nifty little grip for the pick.

I grabbed the red .58 mm pick and strapped on my acoustic guitar. I strummed a few chords and played a blues rhythm in E. Strumming was effortless, picking took a little time with the new pick but it came eventually. I feel it was pretty much just getting used to having something different in my fingers. I did notice that with the raised ridge in the center of the pick that the pick itself did not slip from my fingers and if it rotated like a standard pick can from time to time you sure couldn't tell. The tone that the pick produced was similar any other nylon pick. I used the blue 1.0 mm pick with my Telecaster. I put on a blues backing track from Rock House and played some licks using the Pointless Picks. Again the results were pretty much the same. The pick stayed in my hand, there was no rotation and tone produced with the pick itself was good.

I think that every guitarist should have an arsenal of “tools” available to them for different playing situations. I believe that Pointless Picks should be one of those weapons in your arsenal. They're now a part of mine.

You can buy a trial pack on the companies web site. 10 bucks gets you 9 picks, 3 of each gauge. For a limited time if you use promo code “pointless promo” you can get the trial pack for 8 bucks at www.pointlesspicks.com