|
|||||||
|
|
Guitar Story
Guitars will always be my hobby. Wherever
I stay, there is always one around. I started fretting around at the age
of eight using a ukelele that my father bought as a souvenir from Hawaii,
but I learned most of the chords by watching my older brother play his acoustic
guitar and using the chords that he learned from our Dad. So guitars
run a little in the family. Almost everyone played the guitar, but I was
the only one who was really into it by seriously developing my skills into
a level that can stand out with professionals (without knowing how to read
music). I learned mostly playing by ear, which I think is the fastest method
to learn, especially if you have a band.
I got my first electric guitar during my high school
years that was given to me by a friend before he eloped to Persia with a
brand new electric guitar. It was a shoddy one from Sears, but I was quite
excited and proud of it at the time and showed it off to my high school buddies,
in which later, we formed our first band. Although I knew a lot of chords,
I did not know much about guitar solos back then, but I had the passion to
play and went ahead and picked a lot of fast screeching noises, like if I
knew what I was doing and felt good about it.
It was the Beatles who really got me interested in music and guitars; in fact, even my father and the whole family were influenced by them. Later on my own, the british blues-rock invasion caught my attention with bands like Led Zeppelin, Cream and the Rolling Stones. Then I got serious with the blues for awhile listening to B.B. King. One thing that caught my attention is when I have listened to other well-known institutionally skilled guitarists, some sparkle or feeling seem to be missing in comparison to the raw-art expressed by legends like Eric Clapton, Jimmy page, B.B. king and Mick Taylor. In my opinion, the best guitarist are the best listeners, and these guys have feelings for their music and the right ears for music appreciation.
Since I love playing the guitar, I like to be versatile with it. So my range of style now covers from finger-picking, classic rock, the blues and surprisingly, heavy metal with the influence of bands like Queen and Black Sabbath. I can consider Brian May and blues based Tony Iommi to be along with the virtuosos. Now for the guitars of my choice, I like playing the Les Paul Standard and the Fender Stratocaster. For the acoustics, I am still using this old Epiphone El Dorado which I bought broken in two pieces. I have not found a new one yet to replace my appreciation with the deep sound and feel of this guitar. It is the same guitar I used for many years with my studio recordings.
Presently, I am involved into
songwriting. I can pick up ideas and new melody lines just by playing the
guitar. I am keen on doing some more recordings in the future. If I do not
make it big someday with my music, I will not be so disappointed because
I am really doing this for my own pleasure. There are times that I think
about being a guitar instructor, so if you have any comments about guitar
playing or if you would like to have some guitar tips, feel free to drop
me a line. Remember, a guitar can be there for you in bad times. I believe
the best work I ever accomplished is my music compositions, and some of these
songs were written and done with the guitar during my dark period in life.
So, so much for the guitar!
Courtesy from Gibson and Epiphone guitars . . . . . . . . |
Guitar Gallery I have been an Epiphone guitars admirer since I saw a film clip of the Beatles strumming their Epiphone "Casinos" on their gig at Candlestick Park. Besides liking the phonetic sounds of the brand name, I checked around and did some research on their other guitar models in the collection. Through the years since the company's re-opening back in 1910, I would conclude that their specialty were mostly hollowed body and semi-hollowed body electric guitars. But when Gibson Corporation took over the company, they started designing solid bodies and making copies of the Les Paul models with the "Epiphone" brand, and shifted to Asia for the labor. I am very much appreciative for the Epiphone Les Paul Standard models in comparison with the original Gibson models. For one thing, they are mostly much lighter in weight, as some of them are almost as light as a Fender Stratocaster, which for me, I can stand all-day with on stage. (Thanks to the combination of the mahogany/alder wood). But for some models, some of them can weigh in as close as the Gibson Les Pauls. Perhaps, on a certain year, the Korean factory built the guitars with heavier type of mahogany/alder wood. The sunburst's tiger-layered maple finish resembles the vintage Gibson Les Paul. For the price it is selling for, it is surely worth owning, especially if you are a guitar player. The earlier pick-ups were up to stage, but were not reputed for high amplification and studio work. Lately however, they have made improvements on the design with Alnico magnets. But as they are standard humbuckers, they are replaceable with other brands like "Di Marzio", "EMG" or a Gibson "Burstbucker". I replaced one of my old Epiphone Les Pauls with a Gibson and an Ibanez treble humbucker. Debuting in 2002, the Fuji-gen Plant in Japan began to produce the Epiphone "Elite" (Elitist) Les Paul Models. It features Gibson designed 50 SR and 60 ST USA-made pickups, and with the same the same (tone and volume) circuitry and parts and bookmatch wood as the original Gibson Les Pauls. The only main difference between my Elite Les Paul Standard guitar and the Gibson Les Paul Standard is the shape of the headstock, and the fact that it was built in Japan. Based on my overall experience and some encounters in playing different models of the best brands of electric guitars, I would say this is the finest solid body guitar I ever played. What really captivated me in buying my Elite Les Paul is the feel of the slim neck, which has the feeling of playing like on a wider neck and fretboard with ease. Since I am usually playing with my old Epiphone El Dorado (also made in Japan) acoustic guitar, which also has a slim neck, it seems like a coincidence that my Elite LP was designed for my touch. With this observation, I can assume that Japanese luthiers are quite experienced in building rigid quality slim necks as well as the PRS slim neck guitar models, or perhaps even better. And of course, there is more tonal response experimenting with the tone and volume controls of the Elite LP, than with the regular Asian Les Pauls. Up to date, the Epiphone Elite Les Paul Standard (and its' stock pickups) is my steady solid body guitar. If you want to know more about your Epiphone guitar history, download this small software on the link below, which would only need your guitar serial number's input. JPW Epiphone Serial Decryptor
|
[Classical
Guitar]
[Essential Guitar]
[Guitar Software]
[Guitar Tab]
[[Larrivee]
