I’m by no way an expert on jazz, let alone jazz guitarists. I’m fortunate that as a kid, I was surrounded by music from all genres; my Mum was firmly into Motown, my sister was banging out AC/DC , Pink Floyd (Barrett era) and Iron Maiden at a very early age whilst my dad tried his best to enlighten me to essential jazz artists such as Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker.

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The latest “15 questions” feature is with American guitarist Ryan Riggins. His band, Pocket Full of Rocks (PFOR), has recently been nominated for an award for their third album “More than Noise”. Guitar Jar catches up with Ryan and quizzes him on his guitar equipment and his huge “wall of sound”…

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The latest Guitar Jar Mystery Shopper finds us at Electric Ladyland, West Street, Bristol.

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The latest “15 questions” feature is with guitarist Paul Poulton. Paul has been playing live across the county for 25+ years and has a wealth of experience to share with other guitarists. Guitar Jar caught up with Paul to quiz him on his guitar equipment, technique and his experiences of being a full time musician…

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I’m always excited by a new Iron Maiden album release. For the past 10 years, I’ve seen Maiden play live whilst they’re touring promoting new material. At the Sonisphere UK festival earlier in August 2010, lead singer Bruce Dickinson eluded to the fact that the new album, The Final Frontier, may have a few surprises up its sleeve. Well, he wasn’t wrong…

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The latest “15 questions” feature is with guitarist Kiko Loureiro. Brazilian Kiko has just released a new album, “FullBlast” that highlights his versatility and talent. Guitar Jar caught up with Kiko to quiz him on his guitar equipment, technique and the projects he’s currently involved with…

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I had no idea what to expect before listening to “Aquarius” by Haken. I have to be honest, looking at the album cover, I was expecting some pretty dark metal. I was wrong – instead I was greeted by a progressive mashup of a mix of influences and that was only after two minutes air time! Don’t judge a book by its cover and all that.

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Recently, I’ve had some interesting conversations with friends with regards to breaking into the mainstream music scene. For many guitarists, it’s likely you’re in a band, gigging regularly at venues on the local “gigging circuit” and your band may have a few 100 fans on Facebook.

Even if you can solo like Slash or improvise like Hendrix – is that really enough to help your band go to the next stage in their musical career?

Continue reading “Style Over Substance: Is image more important than talent?” »

The latest Guitar Jar Mystery Shopper review finds us at Guitar Classics, situated in Webb Road, Battersea, London.

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Win two tickets to gain free entry to the Bristol Guitar Show in Bristol, September 19th 2010. You will also win 12 packs of Ernie Ball electric guitar  strings, an Ernie Ball guitar strap and 50 free Guitar Jar plectrums!

Continue reading “Guitar Jar Competition — August 2010” »

The latest “15 questions” feature is with guitarist Jon Rabbets. For the majority of Guitar Jar readers who live in the Bournemouth/Poole area, you’ll recognise him from managing Guitar Mania in Parkstone and he’s well known to be one of the finest guitarists in the South of England. Guitar Jar caught up with Jon to quiz him on his guitar equipment, technique and any projects he’s currently involved with…

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Recently I had the opportunity to record some electric guitar at Basement Studios, Wimborne. It was an interesting process as it gave me the opportunity to look at recording procedures (for all instruments) in more detail, especially with regards to the hardware and techniques used.

Continue reading “Bass Guitar Recording Techniques and Interview with Bassist Mark Pitfield” »

Since purchasing a Marshall Vintage/Modern combo, my pedalboard has shrunk considerably. In the Guitar Jar review of that amp, I’ve mentioned how I use my guitar volume control to achieve clean/rhythm/lead sounds. From time to time though, I’ve also been using a ZVEX Super-Duper 2-in-1 boost pedal to drive the Marshall valves even harder…

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To start this post, I’d like to express how gutted I was not to have attended the entire Sonisphere 2010 Festival (mainly due to lack of time and money). However, I arrived with my good friend Jamie early on Sunday morning, raring to go after a brief 2.5 hour drive from sunny Bournemouth, fuelled on RedBull and a Maccy D’s Double Sausage McMuffin breakfast…

Continue reading “Sonisphere Festival 2010 (Sunday) Review” »