Guitars

"Trump unveils latest $10,000 guitar merchandise for sale"

"Prior to the advent of electrical amplification, the role of the guitar in jazz was strictly that of a chorded rhythm instrument, chugging along with the bass and drums and helping to propel whatever ensemble it was a part of. Soloing was pretty much out of the question because, without amplification, the guitar couldn't be heard over the horns. As soon as guitarists could plug into an amplifier, however, the electric guitar started making its presence felt as an improvisational voice in jazz."

"Jazz music forces us guitarists to learn our fretboards. There is no getting around it. In all of its harmonic complexities and demands for virtuosity, we have no choice but to head on down the bumpy road to fretboard mastery."

"For guitar players who are studying jazz, taking the next step in jazz improvisation can mean incorporating the distinct language of the bebop style into one’s playing. Most players start out in jazz by matching scales to their parent chord (such as A Dorian or A Aeolian matched to an Am7 chord). But to really enter the authentic historic realm of jazz – and to learn that specific language – means studying the architects of bebop."

"There’s hardly a sound that’s a bigger signature sound of rock ‘n' roll than that of an electric guitar."

"Thanks to guitar manufacturers and designers like Les Paul and George Beauchamp, the electric guitar emerged during the 1930s and revolutionised the way that music sounded, injecting presence and volume into the blues and paving the way for the birth of rock’n’roll a decade or two later."

"Stay away from the whammy until you’re out of ideas, because it is way too easy to rely on it. Of course, there’s a skill to it. When you’re playing something, it’s so easy to go to the bar and hit it and it sounds great. That’s why I try to stay away from it – you can get tunnel vision and get married to your bar. [...] You want to use the whammy bar as an accent, not something you rely on. Sometimes, yeah, you need a big divebomb and you want to hit a harmonic and bend the fuck out of it, and I’ve done that too many times in my career."

"From R.E.M's start, [guitarist Peter Buck's] post-Roger McGuinn 12-string style served as the foundation for the band’s simple, plain-spoken approach, offering a fresh take on what an independent band could be and inspiring generations of artists to come."

"The twang of a 12-string and the beat of a tambourine ended up nearly synonymous with folk rock music thanks to the Byrds."

"Four capacitors, three resistors, one germanium transistor, plus a boost pot, two jacks, a switch, and a battery, and there you have it – the most vaunted and most valuable effects unit ever created! But as with so many collectibles, complexity isn’t necessarily an indicator of value ($825,000 for a 1918 “inverted Jenny” postage stamp anyone?), and the Rangemaster has several blue-chip factors in its camp. For one, original examples are very rare; two, Eric Clapton, Brian May, and Tony Iommi used one; three, this simple box of bits does something absolutely luscious to your tone."

"As much as [Led Zeppelin's] hard hitting beats and powerful guitar riffs embodied the era when rock and roll hit its peak, Jimmy Page in his leather pants embedded with dragons holding up his double neck Gibson and belting out the solo to the epic "Stairway to Heaven" is an image to put to the music."

"As much as their hard hitting beats and powerful guitar riffs embodied the era when rock and roll hit its peak, Jimmy Page in his leather pants embedded with dragons holding up his double neck Gibson and belting out the solo to the epic "Stairway to Heaven" is an image to put to the music."

"Who says you need to plug in to rock? In the right hands, an acoustic guitar can be every bit as funky, soulful and raw as even the dirtiest electric. Whether strumming, picking, tapping or whacking, dabbling with effects or simply singing the songs that needs to be sung, acoustic players are often the most expressive and inventive guitarists going."

"The instrumental finger technique common to classical guitar—individual strings plucked with the fingernails or, less frequently, fingertips"

"The instrument's classical music repertoire"

"In the classical guitar world, Andrés Segovia changed the game. Not only did he state the case that the guitar can do the business as a classical solo performance instrument, but he proved it beyond all doubt."