Guitar tuners are probably an effect pedal that is pretty low on most people’s priority list after the endless stream of boutique pedals released every year. To me a guitar tuner has to have the following features, fast response, accurate, looks cool. Previously the coolest looking tuner I have seen is the Korg Pitchblack but I’ve always also always liked the look white Boss TU-2/3, the TC Electonic PolyTune combines the cool of the Korg with the reliability of the Boss and in white, you don’t see many white pedals.

I first heard of the PolyTune when I saw the following video little did I know, and indeed nor did almost anyone know that this was in fact a sneak preview of the software that controls the PolyTune.

This video caused quite a stir and even had a major industry figure fooled enough for him to make the guy an offer, I won’t say who but it isn’t hard to find out even though the comment has since been removed. You can’t blame the guy though who wouldn’t want to turn this amazing invention into pedal form, well obviously this was a TC Electronic engineer and if he wasn’t originally he sure must be now. TC Electronic squeezed the software into a very tasty little pedal, simple but elegant in true Scandinavian style.

The PolyTune is really simple to use, strum all strings and you are in polyphonic mode where you can quickly see all your strings and whether they are in tune, pick an individual string and it immediately switches to single note tuning mode using an LED needle to show an accurate representation of your note tuning. The response is incredibly quick, pretty much instant, something I have only previously seen on the Turbo Tuner. You can adjust the tuning if you are tuned down to Eb or D or even B by clicking a button on the top of the unit, it will allow you to drop a semi-tone at a time. This only works for all your strings being dropped, if you use drop D the unit has no idea and will show the bottom string as flat but you can always tune that string individually I don’t think it is a problem. The PolyTune saves this information even after it is powered down, making sure you only have to set how you want things to happen once.

The display automatically adjusts brightness to match surroundings in case you are using a 9v battery to save on power and of course it is True Bypass as the pedal will spend most of its life first in your signal chain switched off. Another cool feature is the power out which lets you use a daisy chain cable to power another unit off the PolyTune. Finally there is an undocumented USB port which I assume is for software updates, not something you see on your average tuner.

TC Electronic say “We can’t make tuning fun. But we can sure make it a whole lot easier.”, I disagree, tuning just got fun!

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The new Slash Appetite For Destruction Les Paul is now up on the Gibson site but this video shows Slash talking about the original guitar and how the guitar differs from a regular Les Paul.

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The Suhr Shiba Drive is a low/medium gain Overdrive pedal which sits between the Koko Boost and Riot Distortion pedals. The Shiba drive is perfect for bluesy overdrive tones or classic rock crunch taking you from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Angus Young in the twist of a knob. Put this amp in front of an already overdriven amp and you will get awesome sustain and drive for searing leads.

“There is a slight midrange hump that helps you cut through the mix, but the sonic integrity of your guitar and pickups comes through loud and clear. The tone is musical and balanced with firm lows, punchy mids with just the right amount of cut, and sweet silky highs.”

Like all of the current Suhr Pedals lineup this unit comes with a 3 way midrange EQ switch in this case called a “Smooth” switch which will give you slightly different voicings, it also has the FX link for hooking up with external switching devices and the battery alert for when your 9V battery is low on power. Of course you can also use a mains adaptor, from 9 - 18V to power the pedal. This pedal is perfect for stacking and especially with the Suhr Koko boost which beefs up the signal going into the Shiba.

If you are in Australia or New Zealand and would like to purchase one of these fantastic pedals or any other Suhr pedal head over to Guitar Noize Gear Factory for the latest pricing info and give me a shout.

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I love behind the scenes videos so it is great to peer into the PRS Guitars Factory and see what goes into making these beautiful instruments. The first video goes into the woodshed at with Wood purchaser Paul Platts. They should turn one of those giant slabs of mahogany into a giant fretboard, ok so not Mahogany as such maybe a giant slab of Pao Ferro! Paul Reed Smith himself is also great at explaining the processes involved with drying the wood which I think is fascinating.

In this next video is a demonstration of the CNC Machines & Tooling:

The next video shows the Truss Rod Installation and Fingerboard Glueup:

The next step is the Fret installation:

And naturally the “Inlay/Slot/Round/Level” follows:

What a fantastic set of videos and great insight into how PRS create such amazing instruments.

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Eagle Rock Entertainment (UK), is pleased to announce the April 26th Blu-ray and DVD release of CHICKENFOOT: Get Your Buzz On “Live” - one of the most highly anticipated live rock’n’roll concert experiences of the year. In addition to the April 26th UK release, the Blu-ray and DVD will be released in the US on Tuesday April 20th by EMI America.

Filmed in state-of-the-art hi-definition over three sold out concerts, CHICKENFOOT: Get Your Buzz On “Live” offers fans an unforgettable opportunity to experience four rock’n’roll legends, sharing a stage together and blowing the roof off with their explosive musicianship and dynamic onstage chemistry.

CHICKENFOOT, who won “Best New Band” at the UK’s prestigious 2009 Classic Rock Magazine Awards, features vocalist Sammy Hagar (ex-Van Halen, Montrose), bassist Michael Anthony (ex-Van Halen), drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani.

The Blu-ray and DVD editions are jam-packed with exclusive, never-before-seen backstage footage, rare behind-the-scenes interviews, additional performance footage, photo gallery and hilarious segments featuring a host of special guest appearances from Adam Corolla, Bob Weir and Christopher Guest aka “Nigel Tufnel” of Spinal Tap fame

Track Listing
1. Avenida Revolution
2. Sexy Little Thing
3. Soap On A Rope
4. My Kinda Girl
5. Down The Drain
6. Bitten By The Wolf
7. Oh Yeah
8. Learnin’ To Fall
9. Get It Up
10. Turnin’ Left
11. Future In The Past
12. Bad Motor Scooter
13. My Generation

Bonus Features
Documentary
Band Interviews
Running time: 60 minutes (approx)
Photo Gallery

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Lick Library guitar videos Stuart Bull interviewed Australian singer songwriter Orianthi at the music trade show NAMM in Anaheim, California. Orianthi discussed her most recent album ‘Believe’ as well as the music video ‘Highly Strung’ with Steve Vai, which was completed this year. She also goes into detail about the album making process and describes the Believe album as “definitely pop.”

In the interview, which is available on Lick Library’s site, Stuart Bull asks about trying to balance the demands of record producers and a more ‘pop’ career, with her artistic freedom. In response she simply tells of her feelings gratitude that she is doing what she loves - playing guitar.

Orianthi was originally spotted and mentored by Carlos Santana and subsequently by Steve Vai. She is perhaps best known for the fact she was to be the guitarist on the recent Michael Jackson tour. She has also played with Prince, has featured on the film Bratz: The Movie as well as the Eric Clapton Guitar Festival. The Lick Library site also contains an interview with Orianthi from 3 years ago.

Lick Library, one of the world’s leading producers of guitar videos and lessons, was founded by Stuart Bull and Kim Waller. Their mutual passion for music lead to the creation of Total Accuracy – which produced backing tracks for guitarists to practice over. This developed into Lick Library – a resource relied upon by thousands of passionate guitarists, bassists and drummers around the world. Their stated mission is to “provide the best possible experience for musicians of all levels to learn their chosen instrument, benefit from the wisdom of world class tutors and interact with other musicians worldwide.”

For the ultimate range of tuition products, www.licklibrary.com has the comprehensive and definitive professional guides to learning to play the guitar.

Check out Orianthi Highly Strung featuring Steve Vai:

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Check out this new video posted up on Steve Vai’s YouTube channel about the Ibanez Universe 20th Anniversary Reissue. I had serious G.A.S. for this guitar when I first saw the cover of Passion & Warfare back 1990 and made a conscious decision to buy one as soon as I had the money, of course I was only 14 at the time and was a long way off my goal and then the urge passed and I never bought one. Now we all have another chance as the 20th Anniversary Reissue has been announced, the classic swirl finish has been reproduced exactly as per the original so get out your leather pants, cowboy boots and put some dangly feathers in your hair and rock out early 90’s style!

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The competition will close 3 weeks from today, which coincidentally is the last day of March which seems quite fitting. This competition is open to EVERYONE, I don’t care where you live I will arrange shipping.

Prizes
1st prize
3 sets of Curt Mangan 10 - 46 Electric Guitar strings
3 Sets of Curt Mangan 11 - 52 Acoustic Guitar strings
1 Ibanez T-shirt
Tommy Emmanuel - The Mystery CD
Custom Guitar Noize guitar picks from Grover Allman - http://www.groverallman.com

2nd prize
2 sets of Curt Mangan 10 - 46 Electric Guitar strings
2 Sets of Curt Mangan 11 - 52 Acoustic Guitar strings
1 Ibanez T-shirt
Tommy Emmanuel - The Mystery CD
Custom Guitar Noize guitar picks from Grover Allman - http://www.groverallman.com

Curt Mangan strings was founded in 2004, Curt has a 46-year history with the guitar. He played and recorded professionally for many years, worked at and owned music stores, built and repaired guitars, taught lessons, wrote music and was Director of Sales and Marketing for Ernie Ball strings for seventeen years.

http://www.curtmangan.com

Thank you to Australis Music Group for their generation donation of prizes and Grover Allman for the incredibly cool Guitar Noize guitar picks.

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Here are a list of dates and venues:

March 6 - 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sam Ash
12747 S Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89109

March 14
1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Musican’s Superstore
9260 Sheridan Blvd.
Westminister, CO 80031

March 19 - 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Sam Ash
7780 S. Cicero Ave.
Burbank, IL 60459

March 21 - 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Cascio Interstate Music
13819 W. National Ave.
New Berlin, WI 53151

March 22 - 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Sweetwater
5501 US Highway 30W.
Fort Wayne, IN 46818

March 26 - 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Sam Ash
156 W. 48TH. St.
New York, NY 10036

March 27 - 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Ken Stanton
119 Cobbb Parkway North, Suite A
Maretta, GA 30062
770.427.4291

Check out http://www.ibanez.com for more details.

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http://www.ibanez.com/Contest/giveaway/meshuggah

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Marshall have been posting a number of updates over at the AFD100 site including a set of video interviews between Slash and Marshall’s Santiago. If you don’t know about this projects Marshall are trying to recreate the amp that was used on the Guns n’ Roses album Appetite For Destruction. Check out the AFD100 site for more info about this project and subscribe to the Inside Marshall YouTube channel.

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Like him or not there is no denying that the upcoming self-titled solo album from Slash is going to be a massive release. Slash has gathered a number of big names for the record such as Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop and Lemmy but also some unexpected names such as Fergie and Adam Levine of Maroon 5, it certainly seems to be an eclectic line up. The video above is a sneak peek at the recording process of the new album with in-studio footage of Slash and co. playing some of the new tracks.

The track listing is as follows (guest vocalists in parenthesis):

01. Ghost (Ian Astbury, feat. Izzy Stradlin) (3:34)
02. Crucify The Dead (Ozzy Osbourne) (4:04)
03. Beautiful Dangerous (Fergie) (4:35)
04. Promise (Chris Cornell) (4:41)
05. By The Sword (Andrew Stockdale) (4:50)
06. Gotten (Adam Levine) (5:05)
07. Doctor Alibi (Lemmy) (3:07)
08. Watch This Dave (Dave Grohl, Duff McKagan) (3:46)
09. I Hold On (Kid Rock) (4:10)
10. Nothing To Say (M. Shadows) (5:27)
11. Starlight (Myles Kennedy) (5:35)
12. Saint Is A Sinner Too (Rocco De Luca) (3:28)
13. We’re All Gonna Die (Iggy Pop) (4:30)

Bonus tracks:

14. Baby Can’t Drive (Alice Cooper, Nicole Scherzinger)
15. Paradise City (Fergie, Cypress Hill)

Blabbermouth has more details here.

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Storming into the New Year, Orange Amps are giving their range of guitar amps a boost with the launch of the new Thunder 30 combo and head. This replaces the Rocker 30 and will roar into the shops spring 2010.
The new Thunder 30 is an all valve class A 30 watt, twin channel amplifier, powered by four EL84 power valves (two more than the Rocker 30). It will be available in head and 1 X 12 configurations and includes an F/X loop (not featured on the Rocker 30) and the 1x12 is front loaded.
A brand new design incorporating the best of the Rocker and Thunder series, the new amps have two channels. The first is a classic vintage channel which has crystal clear clean sound and when turned up delivers a thunderous vintage power amp overdrive. The second overdrive/distortion channel, features a shape control as seen in the Thunderverb models and has a British tone crunch of numbing proportions!
The Thunder 30 combo offers the perfect balance between power and portability and is ideal for regular gigging. It’s small and light enough to be portable whilst also offering a phenomenal tonal range for use in the studio environment.
Delivering more punch, more features and more power, the Thunder 30 will blow you away when you here the sound!

http://www.orangeamps.com

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