10 Most Popular GI.com Products of 2009
Posted by Michael Mueller on December 31, 2009 at 10:54 AM
First of all, we at Guitarinstructor.com would like to thank you for your patronage this past year. We are striving to make the site better than ever in 2010, with some big things planned for the new year. In the meantime, we will do our best to bring you the best video guitar lessons on the Web, along with the most accurate guitar tab on the planet and jam tracks so authentic and realistic you'll think you're in the band!
It's always interesting to see what our customers liked best, and in 2009, the 10 products listed below are the ones that got the most attention from you. If there's something you'd like to see at the site, or if you have suggestions on how to make the site more useful and a more enjoyable experience, please leave a comment below.
1. "Sweet Home Alabama" Lynyrd Skynyrd (video song)
2. Jimi Hendrix Style - Doug Boduch (video lesson)
3. "All Along the Watchtower" - Jimi Hendrix (guitar tab)
4. Jazzy Lines for the Blues Pig - Greg Koch (video lesson)
5. Building Speed - Troy Stetina (video lesson)
6. Blues Rhythm Guitar - Wolf Marshall (video lesson)
7. "Crazy on You" - Heart (video song)
8. "The Sky Is Crying" - Stevie Ray Vaughan (video song)
9. "Heaven" Los Lonely Boys (video song)
10. "Iris" Goo Goo Dolls (video song)
New BLACK LABEL SOCIETY Album Tentatively Due in June
According to a report at Blabbermouth.net, guitarist Zakk Wylde will record a new Black Label Society CD in January and February (presumably in his new recently completed home studio), mix it in March, then spend April and May doing promo and tour rehearsal before releasing the disc in June.
As for Zakk's health, his wife recently revealed that he's suffering from "a rare genetic clotting disorder," for which he is receiving treatment.
Black Label Society guitar tab and video song lessons
Avenged Sevenfold Drummer James Owen Sullivan Dead at 28
Posted by Michael Mueller on December 29, 2009 at 7:14 AM
James "The Rev" Sullivan, drummer for rising heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, died on Monday at his home in southern California. He was 28. He appeared to have died of natural causes, though the Orange County Coroner's Office is investigating. The band offered the following statement at its web site.
It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan. Jimmy was not only one of the world's best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy's family and we hope that you will respect their privacy during this difficult time.
Jimmy you are forever in our hearts.
M Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance and Johnny Christ
The band, which Sullivan co-founded in 1999, recently announced plans to record their third studio album for Warner Music Group. Their most recent effort, the 2007 self-titled disc, has attained gold status, according to the RIAA.
Avenged Sevenfold guitar tab
Gibson Unveils Jimmy Page Number Two Les Paul
Posted by Michael Mueller on December 28, 2009 at 2:31 PM
The Gibson custom shop has unveiled the new Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul, modeled after the '59 LP that Page got from Joe Walsh. Produced in strictly limited numbers, with two levels of aging, this guitar captures the look, feel, sound, and versatility of one of the greatest artist-owned Les Pauls of all time, and despite its exorbitant price tag and a still-sagging economy, it is likely to sell out from authorized Gibson dealers in quick time.
Led Zeppelin guitar tabs
The 1959 Les Paul that has come to be known as "Number Two" was purchased by Page in 1973 after trying for some time to acquire an exceptional second Les Paul. This was several years after having acquired his other legendary Les Paul—"Number One", a '59 'Burst with shaved-down neck profile and no serial number—from Joe Walsh. "Number Two" was essentially all original when he acquired it though Jimmy did have some modifications done to the neck shape so that it would more nearly match the feel of his "Number One." The neck is certainly slim but not to such extremes as the now-ultra-slim neck on "Number One." It had a strong, beautiful sunburst finish with a red element that had faded to a dusky amber-brown, along with a clear serial number dating it to 1959. Page played this Les Paul frequently through his days with Led Zeppelin, and in the early '80s decided to make it an even more versatile instrument and "explore the full range of what the two humbuckers have to offer".
Page designed a switching system for coil splitting, series/parallel, and phase-reverse options for both pickups, and employed a skilled electronics technician to devise a working schematic and make his sonic vision a reality. The result comprised a push/pull pot on each of the guitar's four standard controls, plus two push-button switches hidden beneath the pickguard, all mounted on a '59 Les Paul Standard that is otherwise a superb example of the breed, both in tone and playability.
The Custom Shop Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul was recreated with intense, inch-by-inch examination of Page's original guitar, inside and out. The process of getting it right involved the production of a number of hand-built prototypes, each of which was checked and critiqued in detail by Page himself. Approval of the final iteration was only offered after the legendary artist had intricately examined and extensively played this last prototype in his London home—after which it was given the thumbs-up, worthy of being the template for the Custom Shop Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul. Only 325 examples will be produced in total: 100 will be aged by vintage-reproduction master Tom Murphy (MSRP: $15,294); 25 more will be aged by Tom Murphy, with documentation signed by Jimmy Page (MSRP: $25,882); and 200 will be finished to Gibson's VOS specs (MSRP: $11,176).
For more info and specs, visit Gibson.com.
Musicians Institute and Camp Jam Present Camp Jam Overnight Sessions
Summer 2010 will mark the debut of an exciting collaboration between Musicians Institute and the renowned nationwide summer program for young musicians, Camp Jam. Experience MI @ Camp Jam features exclusive seminars, performances, small-group lessons and performance workshops conducted by MI instructors at Camp Jam Overnight locations including Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Long Island, and Washington, D.C. Already confirmed as Experience MI Guitar instructor is Jennifer Batten, an MI grad and former instructor who achieved worldwide fame as guitarist for Michael Jackson and Jeff Beck (guitar tab).
Participants will be treated to a taste of MI's unique brand of contemporary music education in addition to the full roster of activities already planned by Camp Jam. For talented musicians thinking about taking their music education to the next level, Experience MI @ Camp Jam is a chance to meet MI teachers and find out more about the unique opportunities at MI's Hollywood, California campus.
For more information on the Camp Jam schedule plus application and enrollment information, visit www.campjam.com.
Christmas Guitar Tabs and Jam Tracks
Need to learn a Christmas carol or two before the family Christmas gathering? We can help! We've got over 50 holiday classics available in note-for-note guitar tab, easy guitar tab, and even bass guitar tab. Here are just a few of our titles:
"The First Noel"
"Frosty the Snow Man"
"Let It Snow"
"Jingle-Bell Rock"
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)"
"Away in a Manger"
Click here to see them all.
We've also got over 40 Christmas audio jam tracks for your play-along pleasure, including "Here Comes Santa Claus," "Jingle-Bell Rock," and "Silver Bells," among others. Click here for the complete list.
Jimi Hendrix All-Star Tribute Tour 2010 Announced
Posted by Michael Mueller on December 22, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Experience Hendrix has announced the fourth-edition biennial concert tour featuring an all-star line up of music greats paying homage to the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix. Featured artists who will be performing music written and inspired by Jimi Hendrix include Joe Satriani, Jonny Lang, Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Brad Whitford (of Aerosmith), Doyle Bramhall II, Ernie Isley, Living Colour, Double Trouble's Chris Layton, and bassist Billy Cox.
Cox, who played in both the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Band of Gypsys and performed with Hendrix at such landmark festivals as Woodstock and the Isle of Wight, said, "It's a thrill for me to play Jimi's music for audiences now as it was in the 1960s. The Experience Hendrix tours have shown how timeless this music really is."
Says guitarist Joe Satriani: "I finally get to pay tribute to my hero the right way, on stage with an amazing, once in a lifetime, line up of musicians!"
Sacred Steel featuring Robert Randolph, Susan Tedeschi, and David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos are also performing on selected Experience Tour dates.
Get Jimi Hendrix guitar tab, lessons, and jam tracks here!
Here are the 2010 Experience Hendrix Tour dates:
[Click here for full tour line-up and ticketing information]
Mar 4 - Santa Barbara, CA — Arlington Theatre
Mar 5 - Los Angeles, CA — Gibson Amphitheatre
Mar 6 - Las Vegas, NV — The Joint By Rogue at the Hard Rock Hotel
Mar 7 - Mesa, AZ — Ikeda Theatre (Mesa Arts Center)
Mar 9 - Friant, CA — Table Mountain Casino Events Center
Mar 10 - San Francisco, CA — The Warfield
Mar 12 - Reno, NV — Silver Legacy Resort Casino
Mar 14 - Denver, CO — Paramount Theatre
Mar 16 - Kansas City, MO — Uptown Theatre
Mar 17 - Minneapolis, MN — Orpheum Theatre
Mar 18 - Chicago, IL — Chicago Theatre
Mar 20 - St. Louis, MO — Fox Theatre
Mar 21 - Milwaukee, WI — Riverside Theatre
Mar 23 - Akron, OH — Akron Civic Theatre
Mar 24 - Montclair, NJ — Wellmont Theatre
Mar 25 - Red Bank, NJ — Count Basic Theatre
Mar 27 - Atlanta, GA — Fox Theatre