Chanteur puissant à la voix rocailleuse. And here is bluestab's blog And here, via Babelfish is bluestab's blog in an English of sorts. Then, while, looking for mp3s to match the tabs, I came across the universe of African American history and culture that is AfricanAfrican aka NegroArtist.com, a site so big it has two URLs. [Billy Mays] But, wait--that's not all! [/Billy Mays] [more inside]
posted by y2karl on Oct 23, 2009 - 12 comments

Aurora "Rory" Block has staked her claim to be one of America's top acoustic blues women, an interpreter of the great Delta blues singers, a slide guitarist par excellence, and also a talented songwriter on her own account. - AllMusic
posted by Joe Beese on Oct 2, 2009 - 14 comments

Musical sorting algorithms. [via]
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse on Aug 21, 2009 - 23 comments

The Who: Maximum Windmill Guitar Contest
posted by marxchivist on Aug 6, 2009 - 8 comments

S. E. Rogie: Go easy with me. [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue on Jun 28, 2009 - 6 comments

Van Shipley was the first electric guitarist in India. The name Van Shipley is Methodist, he [was] from Lucknow [Uttar Pradesh, India]. He designed his own electric eight string steel guitar in the 1940's. The reason he did this was that he'd studied Indian classical music under Ustad Alaudin Khan, the leading classical musician in India, who was also a contemporary of Ravi Shankar. He also studied the violin with a German teacher... so he made an eight string guitar, instead of a five string. His guitar was a solid guitar, designed to his style at the time, it was futuristic. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on Jun 14, 2009 - 10 comments

The First of May Jonathan Coulton's ode to the 'coming' of spring (SLYT). NSFW language. Coulton's Last.fm page. More MP3s here. Coulton wrote the 'Still Alive' song from Portal and also works with John Hodgman. Jon on Twitter.
posted by daHIFI on May 1, 2009 - 21 comments

Looping, live: David Ford, Imogen Heap, KT Tunstall x2, Dub FX, Ed Alleyne-Johnson
posted by flatluigi on Apr 7, 2009 - 50 comments

You know that guitar sound at the start of "Touch Me I'm Sick"? Or when Keith plays the big riff in "Satisfaction"? That's fuzz. I love fuzz, and I was very happy to stumble across this fine documentary about fuzz pedals and their makers. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 7, Part 8 Should be enough there to sustain your interest for a while... (Previously...)
posted by awfurby on Mar 22, 2009 - 28 comments

Guitar chord progression generator. Guitar chord charts. Have fun!
posted by baphomet on Mar 9, 2009 - 16 comments

Guitar Noise is a free guitar lesson website with hundreds of articles, tips and reviews for students of this versatile instrument. Whether you are a beginner, a lefty, a bass player or a singer, Guitar Noise has lessons on nearly everything and anything to do with the guitar. There are many talented musicians out there. The artist profiles section includes interviews with dozens. The forums, blog and podcasts help you keep up with this thriving community.
posted by netbros on Feb 23, 2009 - 11 comments

Little Big Star (free software, currently in beta - video) it's the first guitar rythm game with support for real instruments. In the next months two more products of the same kind should be released, Disney Star Guitar and Guitar Rising. [more inside]
posted by darkripper on Jan 14, 2009 - 16 comments

Story From North America. A boy learns to appreciate life in all its forms via song.
posted by ludwig_van on Jan 5, 2009 - 8 comments

The Martin D-28. You have heard it thousands of times before. Its modest appearance belies its history and influence; there have been several changes in its design and construction over the years, but it remains largely the same since its introduction in 1934. [more inside]
posted by jimmythefish on Oct 25, 2008 - 24 comments

The website to tie in with the BBC series Imagine: The Story Of The Guitar has video interviews with The Edge, Bob Brozman, Johnny Marr, Pete Townshend, David Gilmour, Charlotte Hatherley and BB King. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Oct 21, 2008 - 27 comments

In the wide world of synthesizer guitars, the Synthaxe may well be the choicest both in its aesthetics and its raw awesomeness could. John Hollis tells us what we're missing. Some guy demonstrates it. Allan Holdsworth whips it out in concert. Also, a music video from Lee Ritenour's Synthaxe-heavy Earth Run album.
posted by colinmarshall on Oct 18, 2008 - 25 comments

Having always found the process of setting up a guitar slightly intimidating, I am so glad that there's now a robot that can do it for me. Plek is a German-designed system for mechanically adjusting the setup of your guitar. Short video here. I wonder what happens when the robot guitar tech meets the robot guitar?
posted by awfurby on Aug 24, 2008 - 20 comments

Hiram Bullock, original guitarist for Paul Shaffer's "Worlds Most Dangerous Band" died on July 25th. He was a fixture in the early days of David Letterman's show. The cause of death was not disclosed but Bullock had been undergoing treatment for cancer and was known to have had drug problems. Bullock was 52. [more inside]
posted by KevinSkomsvold on Jul 29, 2008 - 24 comments

So, about 9 months ago I started working on this compilation... Until yesterday, however, I hadn't seen a tracklist from the mysterious 10-cd set called the VrootzBox, so this is not a derivative work, however similar it may be...I should mention that not all of these songs are songs that he covered or copped licks from. Most of the music he has made mention to, though a few of the songs were recorded after his formative years and one or two he never would have heard. But they are presented to give an illustration of the styles he drew from (such as gamelan, which he grew up playing in his neighbor's back yard).

Wrath of the Grapevine: The Roots of John Fahey
via FaheyGuitarPlayers
posted by y2karl on Jun 1, 2008 - 12 comments

Leslie Low is an indie improv-based musician singer/songwriter. This site has songs from his two solo albums, Volcanoes, moody instrumental music mixing striking melodies, organic sounds, odd rhythm structures and laptop noise elements; and Worms, with solo guitar and voice delivering haunting intense acoustic numbers about death, retreating from the world and seeking refuge in a quiet place behind the woods. [more inside]
posted by netbros on May 19, 2008 - 10 comments

Three of the giants of Brazilian guitar were Laurindo Almeida (1917-1995; wiki here), Luiz Bonfa (1922-2001; wiki here), and Baden Powell (1937-2000; wiki here). Here is Laurindo Almeida w/the MJQ playing One Note Samba; here is Luiz Bonfa playing the theme from Black Orpheus (which he composed); and here is Baden Powell playing Samba Triste. [more inside]
posted by ornate insect on May 19, 2008 - 17 comments

Smooth Jazz, also sometimes referred to as new adult contemporary music or instrumental pop, is generally described as a genre that utilizes instruments and improvisation traditionally associated with jazz and stylistic influences drawn from mostly R&B, but also funk and pop. Since the late 1980s and into the 1990s, it has become successful as a radio format. [source wikipedia] [more inside]
posted by netbros on Apr 20, 2008 - 251 comments

Sacred Steel is a pedal-steel guitar style that evolved in the African-American Pentecostal denomination The House of God, Which Is the Church of the Living God, the Pillar and Ground of the Truth. Brothers and lap steel players Willie and Truman Eason, inspired by the electric blues and Hawaiian steel guitar of the 1920s and 30s, brought the sound to two branches of the church, the Keith and Jewell dominions. Its hallmark: "talking guitar," in which the sliding steel emphasizes and mimics the words of preachers and singers. In the 1970s, a new "Motor City" tradition began, featuring the more complicated pedal steel guitar. This body of music was known mainly in church circles until two things happened: first, folklorist Robert Stone became interested in the music and relased several CD collections. And then, church player Robert Randolph (and his Family Band) began taking Sunday morning's music out onSaturday night. [more inside]
posted by Miko on Apr 8, 2008 - 19 comments

The Sterner Capo Museum For anyone who has found themselves reduced to the pencil and rubber band.
posted by Miko on Apr 3, 2008 - 29 comments

Imagine a guitar constructed from a country’s history. Recently named Voyageur, the Six String Nation guitar is just that: Canada’s Guitar. [more inside]
posted by valleys on Mar 25, 2008 - 17 comments

Whether on fretless electric guitar or fretless Turkish banjo, mister Salih Korkut Peker sounds mighty fine. And here he is again on banjo, getting down on some Turkish grooves with percussionist Gencer Savaş. Sweet! [note: see hoverovers for link descriptions] [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Mar 6, 2008 - 33 comments

And here we have a couple of YouTube productions, screensaverish animations of photos and lyrics to the original recordings: Robert Petway - Catfish Blues and Tommy McClennan - It's Hard To Be Lonesome. This is mostly about Petway and Catfish Blues but you can't mention Petway without mentioning McClennan, as they ran together in their time and as both did versions of Catfish, a song canonical in Delta Blues, recorded and performed by nearly everyone--Muddy Waters - Rolling Stone, for example. Petway just happens to be the first person to record Catfish, and quite possibly the person who wrote it and certainly. to my mind, at least, the person who nailed it... in the uptempo version at the very least. [more inside]
posted by y2karl on Feb 28, 2008 - 8 comments

I tell you what, buddy, that ol' Joe Maphis fellow outta Bakersfield, he was one fast picker. Yup, fast as greased lightning and smooth as gaht-damn silk on that double-neck Mosrite guitar. He and the missus have a little advice for you, too: Don't Make Love In a Buggy. And though Joe was mainly a picker, he did pen one memorable little country ditty which you might've heard in some honky tonk along the line: Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (and Loud, Loud Music). [note: see hoverovers for link descriptions] [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Feb 28, 2008 - 27 comments

Little Hat Jones - Bye Bye Baby Blues
Bye Bye Baby Blues Tab
Dennis (Little Hat) Jones, a Texas bluesman considered a notable of Naples, Texas. He record ten sides of his own and made nine more accompanying the very idiosyncratic and hard to follow Texas Alexander. Bye Bye Baby Blues is a very sweet song that also appears on the Ghost World soundtrack.
See also Texas Blues Guitar (1929-1935) .
posted by y2karl on Feb 16, 2008 - 7 comments

Doc Watson: his warm and unprepossessing voice and rolling guitar stylings (both flatpicking and fingerpicking) are treasures of American music. The following video clips will be a treat for any Watson fan, but especially for guitar players: they feature closeup shots of Doc's left hand fretwork as well as insets of his right hand picking. So, without further ado: Deep River Blues, Blue Railroad Train, Black Mountain Rag and Bluebell. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Jan 20, 2008 - 21 comments

The G1000 Fucking Fucker. There is nothing like the G-1000. Not even vaguely. It is arcane and radical. It is 100% vacuum tubes, from input to output. It contains 100% new-old-stock (NOS) tubes. Types never seen in guitar amps. Artwork on the amp's front panel by Dave Lovelace, of "Retarded Animal Babies" infamy. Check out the hi-res picture for all the explicit functional details. [NSFW] I'm guessing it has a pretty good dirty channel. [more inside]
posted by psmealey on Jan 18, 2008 - 50 comments

The Maestro FZ-1 Fuzztone was one of the first stomp boxes a guitar player could use. Released in 1962 by Gibson, sales didn't take off until a British band used it in the introduction to one of their songs in 1965. But if it weren't for a Marty Robbins song and engineer Glen Snoddy, the pedal might have never been invented and country music wouldn't have been the same. [more inside]
posted by sleepy pete on Dec 4, 2007 - 29 comments

Singer/songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire Richard Thompson: songs of bittersweet longing, sublime eloquence, dark exuberance and ominous allusion. [more inside]
posted by flapjax at midnite on Nov 24, 2007 - 37 comments

Consider Aaron Thibeaux Walker--if anyone ever deserved the title Godfather, King or Present at the Creation, it would be T-Bone Walker. Without T-Bone, there would be no B.B. King, Albert King, no Clarence Gatemouth Brown, no Pee Wee Crayton, Johnny 'Guitar' Watson ad infinitum to every blues guitarist whoever bent a tube amplified string thereafter. For rock and blues, electric lead guitar begins with him--he invented the language and then wrote the book and style manual, too. And he wrote the performance manual as well--dancing, doing splits, playing guitar behind his back while alternating betwen slow and smoky after hour blues and swinging combo and jazzy big band jumps. For examples of him at the height of his powers, give these Coralized mp3s--Cold Cold Feeling and Strollin' With Bones--a listen. [more inside]
posted by y2karl on Nov 14, 2007 - 8 comments

Mick Turner: The melodies stagger and dance and swing and fall like events, emotions and thoughts. For me this...is a celebration of life, all of it, good or bad, for me it's a way to understand things I can't say with words. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Nov 10, 2007 - 9 comments

The Band is one of the more user-friendly fan sites I have come across. What I appreciate most is the (unadvertised) chord charts. They are not always right but they are often not wrong. Subtle, theatrical chromaticism, your name is Mozart Robbie Robertson.
posted by St Urbain's Horseman on Oct 26, 2007 - 16 comments

Sometimes you've got a song or a tune but something's missing : call Mike Stern, he could add some stuff.
posted by nicolin on Oct 24, 2007 - 9 comments

Pushing the envelope and changing the frame within which improvisational jazz has evolved for years is the focus of many contemporary jazz musicians. As far as the guitar is concerned, merging Hendrix's legacy with be-bop and the rhythms of popular music has been a primary objective. This can be traced back to the guitar of Pete Cosey in Miles Davis's groups of the 70'S. Jean-Paul Bourelly has been directly influenced by him, and Dave Fiuczynski's group, The Headless Torsos, pays its dues to Miles here. The rhythm concept behind such a shift is explained by wayne Krantz at the outset of this documentary. One can hear how close it is of Kevin Eubanks solo playing. Other guitarists of interest : Mitch Stein, Oz Noy, Charlie Hunter.
posted by nicolin on Oct 22, 2007 - 12 comments

CountryBluesGuitarFilter: Keys to the Highway: Some Country Blues Resources --although Weenie Juke Radio is now dead and gone, Weenie Campbell lives on, with forums, guitar lessons and linkage galore. Keys To The Highway lists lyrics and guitar keys and tunings for some notable artists. And the one for the Mississippi Sheiks is a link to the fine country blues music blog Done Gone, which has on its front page list of links just about every prewar, country blues and related site worth linking. As does Weenie Campbell. And at WeenieCampbell there are also some audio lessons in mp3 from the great guitarist and guitar teacher John Miller, these days a resident of my fair city.
posted by y2karl on Oct 20, 2007 - 5 comments

To me, he embodies The classical guitarist with all the clichés attached. But he can also make any material his own, or use forms with humor. He's got good compositions too.
posted by nicolin on Oct 17, 2007 - 7 comments

John Fahey - Fare Forward Voyagers
John Fahey - Dance Of The Inhabitants Of The Palace Of King Phillip XIV
Clips from a 2 hour performance at the Euphoria Tavern in Portland, Oregon from 1976. Among the cognoscenti at FaheyGuitarPlayers, the consensus is that these clips display Fahey in rare form on a very good night.
Apart from Fahey, Bohemia Visual Music aka Mike Nastra, the contributor of these clips, provides an interesting assortment of way too hip YouTubery offerings including, among others, Spike Jones, Dimandas Galas, Gene Krupa, Tuxedo Moon, Sun Ra, Pere Ubu and the Holy Modal Rounders.
posted by y2karl on Oct 16, 2007 - 9 comments

The most creative jazz musician to originate anywhere outside the United States (Duke Ellington) is maybe the great guitarist Django Reinhardt. It is true that he gave birth to a style which is now played by many musicians. His achievements are outstanding, if we consider the events of his life. He still fascinates both the scholar (great links but in need of some work : see french wiki for more biographic details) among other things because of controversial details (his survival during WWII and the very origin of swing manouche (gypsy jazz)) and the aspiring guitarist (more) (essential resource). But it's maybe better just to listen - and watch - him play. Further watching : Nuages, an amateur documentary in 1 2 3 4 5 parts. Previously.
posted by nicolin on Oct 9, 2007 - 17 comments

Flamenco guitar is such a subtle and delicate mean of expression that it looks like arranging flamenco music for a number of musicians isn't practical or efficient. Nevertheless, many attempts have been made to use flamenco phrasing or colors within large ensembles : in a classical piece like The Aranjuez Concierto, in jazz when Gil Evans teamed with Miles Davis to greate several pieces entitled Sketches of Spain, or more recently, with the beautiful work of Maria Schneider, or the small units of Louis Winsberg. One of the most convincing score has been recently produced by Juan Carmona, a gipsy guitarist from Marseille, a work performed by many philarmonic orchestras.
posted by nicolin on Oct 7, 2007 - 11 comments

Shoegazer 101 Shoegazing (also known as shoegaze or shoegazer; practitioners referred to as shoegazers) is a genre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted until the mid 1990s, peaking circa 1990 to 1991. The British music press (notably NME and Melody Maker) called this genre "shoegazing" because the musicians in these bands often maintained a motionless performing style, standing on stage and staring at the floor while playing their instruments; hence, the idea that they were gazing at their shoes. The shoegazing sound featured extensive use of guitar effects, and indistinguishable vocal melodies that blended into the creative noise of the guitars. Some notable bands are Ride, Lush, Swervedriver, Slowdive, Curve, and American bands Lilys and the Swirlies. [more inside]
posted by psmealey on Oct 3, 2007 - 113 comments

There are several ways to roam the world. But if you want to do it like a king, you have to master this. Maybe mix it with that. Or this (spanish spoken here). Then, you can bring your old acoustic guitar, hit the street and sing.
posted by nicolin on Oct 3, 2007 - 8 comments

This might lead you to learn to play guitar, to write poems, to sing, or just to watch and listen more intently. Kelly joe Phelps, from washington state, is one of the most beautiful musicians I've ever seen. He's got a great way to play traditionals and his originals are mesmerizing.
posted by nicolin on Sep 11, 2007 - 11 comments

Some more great french guitar players. Nelson Veras first came to France to meet Pat Metheny (he was 14 then, it has been documented on video by Frank Cassenti) but upon meeting some other jazzmen , he decided to stay in France and to experiment in various settings. Robert Crumb isn't exactly a "great french guitar player", but his decision to move to France (his or his wife's decision) and later his responsability in the creation of Les Primitifs du Futur has played a part in the rebirth of ancient french styles ("musette") and the renewed interest in old jazz and blues forms. [more inside]
posted by nicolin on Sep 10, 2007 - 9 comments

Flamenco clearly belongs to spain. But so many immigrants came to France to find work or escape from the civil war that there is a small community of guitarists in southern France who are playing it with original voices. Bernardo Sandoval was the subject of a post in mefi music some time ago. Antonio "kiko" ruiz is about to come to the United States with Renaud-Garcia-Fons : their work can be seen here. Serge Lopez is another great guitarist who puts some guitar parts on his website. Salvador Paterna adds to the traditional sound of flamenco both the 'oud and the violin. They are all from or nearby Toulouse.
posted by nicolin on Sep 4, 2007 - 8 comments

another beautiful guitarist from louisiana Such a wise cat he even could replace t-bone walker in a minute. Well, so he said with his enthralling voice. He was such a beautiful singer. Unique violin player. He disappeared in the aftermath of hurricane katrina. Peace.
posted by nicolin on Sep 1, 2007 - 15 comments

The Wacky World of beating up guitars to add value."Normally, even one of the resulting scratches or dings on a brand-new instrument would make a guitar enthusiast cringe. But in the hands of Mr. Eldred, they are the first steps in the process of creating a "relic" guitar -- a brand new instrument that has been deliberately aged to simulate decades' worth of rock-and-roll wear and tear."
posted by KevinSkomsvold on Aug 28, 2007 - 48 comments