Gibson giveaways and contests

If you really hate to get nice guitars for free, skip this post.
If you've got some spare time, your willing to receive some spam and you want to have twelve chances of winning Gibson products, read on...

It's contest-frenzy!



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Guitar shred show

Mr. Fastfinger reveals the art of shredding! Check out the brilliant, brilliant Guitar Shred Show.

Mika Tyyskä: respect !

Brian Moore contest

I hope you all joined in the previous Epiphone Contest. Well, actually I hope you didn't, but hey.... ;)

Personally, I like this Brian Moore Contest better, way better! Enter now and you could win a new bookmatched flamed maple iGuitar i81.13 from Brian Moore with a gigbag ($995 value) and an assortment of Planet Waves cables and guitar gear - a total value of over $1300!

You have to register first, but it's definately worth the effort!

Children Of The Grave solo tab

Paul Gilbert is one of my favorite guitar players. The guy is simply amazing. Take his solo for the Black Sabbath cover Children Of The Grave (Techincal Difficulties, 1999) for instance. I bet he did it in one take, while improvising half of it, but it took me half a day to tab it, and another two hours to nail it.

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Epiphone giveaway

Just enter your E-mail and win an Epiphone Les Paul Standard.

Only one entry per person? Phew, good thing I've got over a hundred e-mail aliases employees here ;)

Help out Porcupine Tree

Classic Rock magazine has its first awards ceremony at Cafe de Paris , Picadilly, London on 4th October, and Porcupine Tree's Deadwing has been nominated in the best album of 2005 category, along with Robert Plant, Audioslave, Foo Fighters, and Alter Bridge.

I think they delivered one of the best Rock albums of this millenium. If you think so to, help them out by voting via the Classic Rock magazine website. (Voting closes on 21st September).

Back to the Wall: A Tribute To Pink Floyd

September 27 will be the release date of an impressive homage to Pink FLoyd's legendary album, The Wall.

It's nice to see a tribute to a rock band with a great variety of players for once. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy, that's for sure.

Here's some of the artists: Malcolm McDowell, Adrian Belew, Ronnie Montrose, Mike Porcaro, Tony Levin, Steve Lukather (!), Dweezil Zappa (!), Steve Morse (!!!) and many others.

Dream Theater naar Nederland

Paul Gilbert komt nog steeds niet, maar andere held John Petrucci komt samen met zijn band Dream Theater naar Nederland!
Twee avonden in de Heineken Music Hall geven ze: lijkt me dat dat geen probleem wordt om uit te verkopen, gezien hun fanbase in Nederland

Note to self: Genoeg interessante data onderhand: tijd voor een kalenderfunctie...

Nevermore naar Nederland

Iedereen in Nederland opgelet: Nevermore komt naar Nederland!
Jeff Loomis en de zijnen spelen vanavond nog in de States ter afsluiten van de GIGANTOUR. Dat was natuurlijk dikke pret geweest om Fear Factory, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Nevermore, Symphony X en Dry Kill Logic op één avond te zien. Helaas is de markt in Nederland te klein voor dat soort festivals.

Maar goed, gelukkig doen ze in Nederland vanzelfsprekend wel mijn favoriete podium 013 aan, dus ver hoef ik niet te zijn. 16 September is ook nog wel te overzien. Op 17 september zijn ze in Hof ter Loo in Antwerpen te bewonderen, en op 18 september in Patronaat in Haarlem.

New handwired 1959HW Plexi by Marshall

Marshall is now shipping the 1959HW, a handwired reissue of a circa 1969, 100 Watt, all-valve Super Lead 'Plexi' head, plus the angled-front 1960AHW and straight-fronted 1960BHW 120 Watt 4x12" cabinets. These are the latest additions to its line of handwired amplifiers and matching speaker cabinets -- a series that features some of the world's most sought after, vintage, all-valve Marshalls.

"The 100 Watt 'Plexi' head is considered by many to be the definitive rock amp and is the main reason artists started dubbing Marshall as 'the sound of rock' back in the late '60s," states Marshall's U.S. Product Manager, Nick Bowcott.

As with every amp in Marshall's Handwired series, all of the original components and materials were used or reproduced in the 1959HW, and the methods of construction employed in the late 1960s were revisited. Both transformers -- output and power -- have been meticulously recreated by Dagnall Electronics to duplicate the electrical performance and characteristics of the originals while satisfying stringent modern safety legislations.

Guitar World Buyers Guide 2006

What could a guitarist want more besides great gear?
'More great gear?'
Almost.
Guitar World Magazine knows the answer: beautiful women with hot gear!

Although 2006 is still far from here, preparations are made for the new guitar and bass buyers guide. Guitar World offers a preview on their site. Not only will the new buyers guide feature reviews of all the new gear, it will also feature a lot of Vivid video girls 'playing' with it.

Ever dreamed about Tera Patrick holding a Takamine or Briana banks laying next to the latest tube-powered Vox pedalboard? Check out the preview!

Joe Satriani live at Annaheim

Always wanted to see Joe Satriani live without having to pay for a ticket? Here's your chance!
Kikkerfest, the free online festival, brings us Joe Satriani live in Annaheim.

Besides the full concert there's also an interview, photogallery and a profile of his new Peaveay JSX Amp.

(Direct link to the show. Requires Quicktime)

Paul gilbert, kom nou!

Na de frustratie van mijn gemiste Nuno Bettencourt-clinic en Andy Timmons-clinic (jazeker, Andy was onlangs in Nederland, alleen Feedback was zo aardig het slechts drie dagen van te voren op hun website te zetten) was mijn vreugde onlangs weer groot.

Tijdens een avondje stappen in Tilburg las ik namelijk op een 013-poster dat Paul Gilbert aldaar op 28 augustus zou gaan optreden! Helaas was ik toen te dronken om te beseffen dat 'onder voorbehoud' ook kan betekenen dat het niet door zou gaan. De site van 013 toont namelijk alweer een week of twee twee andere concerten op die avond. Paul zelf tourt er voorlopig lustig op los in Azië em belooft al maanden dat hij de data voor Europa snel bekend zal maken.
Nu maar hopen dat hij eerder/later/elders komt, ALS HIJ MAAR KOMT!

Beter nieuws nu: gelukkig heb ik weer een kans om Mattias Eklundh live te zien. Hij zal dit op 13 oktober voor de tweede keer dit jaar P60 in Amstelveen aandoen met zijn band Freak Kitchen. Hoezee!

Patrik Carlsson workshop

Swedish string wizard Patrik Carlsson has finished his workshop section on his website.
According to Patrik, 'The workshop is created for all you guitarists out there who seek new inspiration'.

I haven't listened, let alone tried to play, all of his clips. A couple of my favorites so far are Boqvist Melodies , Tapping Classic and Western Maniac.

The clips give a great insight into his playing and his influences. All clips can be downloaded as mp3's, and many of them are accompanied by scores (tabs) and a summary by Patrik.

Thank you Patrik

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Open dirs rock! Thanks to the open dir on the RacerX website, I discovered a free track.
It's also available as easter egg somewhere on the website, so they probably don't mind me linking the song. It's a 4:47m version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps. With one exeption though, the guitar solo takes about 98% of the song. Yes indeed, Paul Gilbert goes crazy!

So how does a version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps end up on the RacerX website?
It seems the song is taken from the album One Night In New York City by the project Yellow Matter Custard. Yellow Matter Custard did a one off show in the BB Kings Blues featuring Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse, Paul Gilbert and Matt Bissonette. Fortunately there's more audio available: there's both an official bootleg and a cd. So thanks to that open dir, that song just made my buy the official bootleg on Mike Portnoy's site.
As I said, open dirs rock!

Guitar clips

Through Howie Simon's website I stumbled upon a couple of cool guitar clips.
FPE (Ferrante Power Equipment) seems to have a Riff of the Month section, featuring a couple of the best shredders around.

Be sure to check out Dino The Rhythm King, Howie Simon Shreds and John 5 #2.

George Lynch and Randall collaborate again

George Lynch returns to Randall Amplifiers after 20 years to sign another endorsement deal. George is working directly with Doug Reynolds, Division Manager, Bruce Egnater, Head of Engineering, and David Karon, Director of Artist Relations to develop a new series of Lynch Signature preamp modules that are used specifically in the Randall MTS Series line of products including heads, combos, and preamp. To date, four new Lynch MTS modules are being finalized each representing his current tone, while also reflecting each era of the Lynch signature sound. Release date for the new preamps will be the upcoming Summer NAMM show in Indianapolis with production and availability soon to follow.

George will be touring this summer using the new preamps loaded in the RM100M, until a Lynch version of RM100 is released later this year offering new features and slightly different specifications. Future collaborated Randall products will be announced at a later date.

Lynch began his relationship with Randall Amplifiers using 4 RG80 heads and cabinets loaded with 65-watt Celestion's in 1984 for Dokken's first US tour.

(source: Harmony-Central)

Steve Vai naar Nederland!

Oh, dit wordt het jaar van de gitaar! Steve Vai komt naar Nederland, en wel naar 013, bij mij om de hoek dus! De gig staat nog niet op Vai's website, maar een trouwe bezoeker wees me op het bericht op de site van 013. Ben benieuwd of er ook een EVO Premium Experience plaats zal vinden. Maar even goed Vai.com in de gaten houden de komende tijd, want die kaarten zullen snel gaan.

Voor alle fans in Nederland: op 18 juni begint de voorverkoop.
Het voorprogramma zal worden verzorgd door Eric Sardinas, een gitarist van Vai's eigen Favored Nations label.

De complete line-up zal wederom bestaan uit:

Steve Vai - Guitar & Vocals
Billy Sheehan - Bass & Vocals
Tony MacAlpine - Guitar & Keyboards
Jeremy Colson - Drums
Dave Weiner - Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Sitar

See ya @ 013!

Guitars of the stars

Collect Guitars has an impressive amount of guitar collections. Not only collections of mortals, but also of a couple of the greatest guitar gods ever.

Eddie Van Halen probaly beats them all, with his private custom shop, where he single handedly built the legendary striped models. Impressive...

Feedback Uitverkoop 2005

Vanaf zaterdag 4 juni 9.00 uur is het zover! Dan begint bij Feedback Rotterdam de traditionele Uitverkoop. Feedback heeft besloten om de uitverkoop de gehele week door te trekken en pas te eindigen op vrijdag 10 juni om 21.00 's avonds. De volgende dag kun je echter al weer profiteren van superscherpe aanbiedingen, want dan start de Uitverkoop bij Feedback Utrecht en Feedback Apeldoorn. Op maandag 6 juni zijn alle filialen gesloten.

Naast de gebruikelijke snaren, dit keer D'Adderio (jammer, geen Ernie Ball), ook dit jaar weer een paar aardige stunts in het ruime uitverkoop-aanbod. Ik denk dat ik in ieder geval ga voor een K&M haak, waar ik er alweer één van nodig heb.
De Dean Evo XM lijkt me een qua constructie een redelijk waardeloze gitaar, maar ik vind hem erg mooi. Voor 89 euro (twee avonden stappen) kan ik hem eigenlijk niet laten hangen. Bovendien ben ik ervan overtuigd dat Dean zelfs op haar instapmodel enige kwaliteit aflevert. Oh, en die Tapco mixer komt ook wel van pas bij m'n computer. Dat wordt weer even lekker inkopen :)

Dutch Chapter of Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society

There I was, walking towards the Tilburg trainstation on my way to work. 'Hey, that guy must be going to Zakk Wylde tonight' I thought. Holy shit! It *is* Zakk Wylde! As I walk towards him, he gave me a big smile, a warm hug and a loud 'Hey bro!'. He wanted to go for some cocktails he said. I had to disappoint him though: there's no pub open at 8.30AM. Then he had the brilliant idea to stay sober and get some sleep for a couple of hours. So thanks to me Tilburg had a great concert later on that evening ;)

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Zakk, stay cool

Zakk Wylde's popularity is huge. I love the guy. Let there be no misunderstanding about that. But I think he should keep his feet on the ground and avoid becoming a sellout.

There's a million things you can buy to try to become Zakk. And since a couple of years, he has been the number one rock god, so a lot of guitarist want to be like him. Of course, his tone, pentatonic runs, vibrato, are brilliant and have done a lot for the popularity of the guitar in general. But first of all: it was Zakk himself who said: 'It's not the rack that's make your sound, it's your hands...'.

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The Super Avianti by Byrd Guitars

Symphonic rocker James Byrd has recently started his own line of guitars, under the name of Byrd Guitars. So far, the brand has produced one model, the Super Avianti.

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Allen van Wert aka ROBOT

Ever wondered how a video game gone mad sounds? Well, Allen van Wert aka ROBOT is your answer. His bio is impressive, though I think his song descriptions are even more impressive:

TOBOR starts off with a myriad of atonal tapping sounding like a computer room from an old black and white movie soundtrack Then it moves into a boppin groove of slap bass and a fast melody guitar. while this melody sticks in your ear forever, the song is fairly short and punctuates the the previous tracks before gointo into a robotic voice counting down the eve of sonic decimation. A death metal style solo with an atonal flair bombards the listeners ear with a synched double kick drum until the final note is struck

I'd say check out his samples and listen for yourself. By the way, if you're a gamer, chances are good you're going to hear more of him. ROBOT is now working on a game soundtrack... Well, what else can you do with a freaked-out 6-finger tapping style like his ;)

Vinnie Moore and UFO review

The good old rockers of UFO dropped by in De Bosuil in Weert (NL) this week, and I happened to be there. UFO? Yes indeed, UFO. I do have an album of them, but a year ago I wouldn't even think about paying 35 euro's to see them live. But then again, a year ago, Vinnie Moore hadn't joined the band...

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UpcomingTorben Enevoldsen record

Torben Enevoldsen is completely done with all of the recordings for the second Section A album Parallel Lives. The album will feature Pontus Egberg (Ex-Lion's Share) on bass and Mats Olausson (Ex-Yngwie Malmsteen) who did all the keyboard solos. Here's a complete track list: Hunted, The Gift, Awakening, Dark Alliance, Moment Of Truth, Hoping For A Miracle, Changing The Past and Beginning Of The End.

Stay tuned with Torben's website for further details!

Upcoming Steve Lukather tour

Steve Lukather is touring this summer on these confirmed dates:

* June 29th: Robin 2 in Bilston, Wolverhampton, UK
Tickets: www.therobin.co.uk Box office tel: 01902-401211
* June 30th: Mean Fiddler, London, UK
Tickets: www.meanfiddler.com & www.seetickets.com
24hr Ticket hotline: 0870-060-3777
* July 1st: Elysee Montmartre, Paris, France
Tickets: www.fnac.com www.ticketnet.fr www.elyseemontmartre.com
Box Office Tel: 0892 692 392
* July 2nd: Bospop Festival, Weert, Holland
Tickets: www.bospop.nl Tel: 0900-3001250
* July 3rd: Melkweg, Amsterdam, Holland
Tickets: www.melkweg.nl www.ticketservice.nl Tel: 020-5318181
* July 5th: Fabrik, Hamburg, Germany
Tickets: www.fabrik.de www.ticketonline.de
* July 6th: Festival, Leverkusen, Germany
Tickets: www.nrw-ticket.de
* July 7th: Z 7, Pratteln/Basel, Switzerland
Tickets: www.z-7.ch Ticketline: CH-061-8214810
* July 8th: Rennbahn, Krefeld, Germany
Tickets: www.ticketonline.com

Line-up Waldrock 2005 compleet

Met de toevoeging van Icepick is de line-up van Waldrock compleet. Met onder ander Glen Drover, Zakk Wylde, Frederik Thorendal en Devin Townsend genoeg gitaargeweld dacht ik zo!

De complete line-up:

• Megadeth


• Dimmu Borgir


• DIO


• Metal Church


• Accept


• Soilwork


• Life of Agony


• Meshuggah


• Black Label Society


• Strapping Young Lad


• Entombed


• Mastodon


• Epica


• Cephalic Carnage


• Icepick

The Aching Hunger - Phase II

After the successful performances with the Dutch Metropole Orchestra last year, Steve Vai deceided to do two more shows in Groningen, Holland.

'The Acing Hunger - Phase II' is the working title of this tour. Let's hope his perfomance and setlist will be as good as the 2004 edition.

For more tourdates, info and tickets, check out Steve's website

New Marty Friedman DVD

Check out Marty Friedman's new instruction DVD!

If you've ever been stuck in a rut, this DVD is for you! This unbelievably easy to use instructional DVD features 99 guitar phrases, which will drastically increase your musical vocabulary and your ability to improvise great off-the-cuff lead guitar. For the first time ever, Marty reveals the essence of his guitar style in great detail!




The DVD seems to ship worldwide. For $39.99 you can be the owner of this great DVD.

Nuno Bettencourt Washburn contest

My disappointment was big after finding out Nuno Bettencourt gave a clinic last thursday... wich I missed!!! Argh...

Anyway, probably for Dutch / Belgians only, but worth the effort for everyone I'd say: check out this great Nuno Bettencourt Washburn giveaway by one of my favorite music stores!

Even thought it's not an N4, it would make a nice addition to my collection.

Gratis gitaar clinics

In het kader van Electric Guitar Now geven 3 gitaristen een clinic in de IJsbreker over hun specifieke wijze en techniek van spelen.
10 juni Debashis Bhattacharya, aanvang 14.00 uur
10 juni Nguyên Lê, aanvang 20.00 uur
11 juni Mike Keneally (!!!!), aanvang 14.00 uur
Per clinic is er een beperkt aantal plaatsen. Reserveren is daarom verplicht (max. 2 plaatsen per persoon). Belangstelling? Bel dan De IJsbreker (020-6939093, ma t/m vrij, 13.00-17.00 uur)
Zorg dat je er snel bij bent want vol=vol!

bron: Holland Festival

.loading Dock cancelled

I just found out .loading dock has been cancelled.
Loading Dock would have been the first event in Holland for everyone working in the live-music industry.

The need for a special event for the live-music industry (..) is very present. Sadly enough, the enthusiasm hasn't shown itself in the amount of participants.

Mini-Zakk and mini-bull's eye

I definitely have to trade my G.I. Joe and Transformers for these cool Guitar Heroes! Can't wait to put Zakk on my night table...

For those of you who can't wait or can't afford a real Bull's eye Les Paul (or don't trust the Epiphone model), take a look a this...

Steve Vai Workout

Of course you can't be like Mister Vai, and moreover you probably you wouldn't want that. What you do want, is 10% of his skills...

Here's how Steve got his skills: by practising 10 hours a day

Have fun!

It's raining strats and dogs

For just $1300 you can be the owner of this piece of crap art.

Personally, I wouldn't buy anything from a company who disgraces Hendrix in such a way'

New Line6 HD147 video

Be sure to check out the all new HD147 video featuring Ben Moody! Hear the sounds that Ben used on the Evanescence World Tour, and why he will never use a different amplifier. This video also features new sound samples, original songs featuring HD147, and the Line 6 Edit capabilities. Error: INCLUDE gl_multi_cs.html not found/usr/local/WWW//homepages.webkracht.nl/htdocs/tmpl/gl_multi_cs.html