Chances are, if you're not a guitarist you won't know what a phaser, tremolo, flanger, and other effects pedals do. Knowledge about product names such as Big Muff, Memory Man, Fuzz Face... even less likely so.
But if you know any guitar effect pedal, chances are it's the wah-wah... and more specifically, the crybaby wahwah pedal. It's what makes Voodoo Child sound so psychedelic. It's what enables the wakawaka 70's funk/porno effect. It's everywhere, it's fun... and heck, it's the first guitar pedal I ever bought!
The crybaby is to wahwah what kleenex is to tissue paper - the ubiquitous, original product. There is a fun little documentary about the crybaby that is circulating the internet right now, that you should definitely check out, if you're a fan of any music that has any electric guitars in them:
Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World from Joey Tosi on Vimeo.
Showing posts with label guitar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guitar. Show all posts
Friday, March 18, 2011
Saturday, February 20, 2010
A Guitar That's Meant to be Smashed
Here's an interesting product: SMASH guitars, by K's Japan. It's a guitar that's specifically designed to be... destroyed. It has grips in strategic places to better enable swinging and smashing the product, and is extremely light for the same reason. Furthermore, each individual part is made so that it breaks off easier! If you pick up the pieces and send it back to the company, they will recycle them and make a new one. You can also buy apps that produce visuals that are in sync with your smashing.
...and it actually works as an instrument, so it's playable too! All for around $50.
Want a more explosive version? They sell one that is filled with picks, so that when you smash it, you have an explosion of picks!
Strange concept, but I guess there's a niche market out there. What do you think?
SMASH by K's Japan
...and it actually works as an instrument, so it's playable too! All for around $50.
Want a more explosive version? They sell one that is filled with picks, so that when you smash it, you have an explosion of picks!
Strange concept, but I guess there's a niche market out there. What do you think?
SMASH by K's Japan
Monday, November 23, 2009
Collaborative Guitar Playing - On One Guitar
Today I'm going to talk about a few videos that showcase guitar playing in a completely different way: Two people playing the same guitar, at once.
The first, is a bluegrass number, and is self-explanatory. It's an old one, so if you've seen this, go ahead and skip to the next video. A Fun song, and great showmanship too!
Believe it or not, this next video is much, MUCH more technically impressive, and here's why: If you notice in the first video, the guy standing is constantly playing the bass line. Both of their right hands are playing the strings that their left hand is holding down - in other words, it's as if they are each playing half of the guitar. This is still really impressive, since there's no way to play this song on your own because we don't have enough fingers etc.
However, take a look at this second one. First of all, the song itself is much more complex. But more impressively, pay attention to around 0:53. They SWITCH the strings that they hold down, such that person A is finger picking what person B is holding down. If this doesn't seem quite obvious, it becomes more clear around 1:04-1:08. The lady is holding down the strings with the right hand, while the man is playing the strings with the left. Now imagine doing this, but doing the exact opposite roles with the other hand, on the same guitar, at the same time! It's as if you're playing one song on the right hand, and playing another on the left... all the while coordinating it with someone else!! Mind blowing ability!
Finally, something a little different. The guitar is typically strummed/picked in two ways: with a pick, or with your fingers. There's a lot you can do with those things, but it's still just two ways of hitting the strings. Here's something a little different: a guitar being played with a couple pencils, ala a Yangqin (a Chinese hammered dulcimer).
The first, is a bluegrass number, and is self-explanatory. It's an old one, so if you've seen this, go ahead and skip to the next video. A Fun song, and great showmanship too!
Believe it or not, this next video is much, MUCH more technically impressive, and here's why: If you notice in the first video, the guy standing is constantly playing the bass line. Both of their right hands are playing the strings that their left hand is holding down - in other words, it's as if they are each playing half of the guitar. This is still really impressive, since there's no way to play this song on your own because we don't have enough fingers etc.
However, take a look at this second one. First of all, the song itself is much more complex. But more impressively, pay attention to around 0:53. They SWITCH the strings that they hold down, such that person A is finger picking what person B is holding down. If this doesn't seem quite obvious, it becomes more clear around 1:04-1:08. The lady is holding down the strings with the right hand, while the man is playing the strings with the left. Now imagine doing this, but doing the exact opposite roles with the other hand, on the same guitar, at the same time! It's as if you're playing one song on the right hand, and playing another on the left... all the while coordinating it with someone else!! Mind blowing ability!
Finally, something a little different. The guitar is typically strummed/picked in two ways: with a pick, or with your fingers. There's a lot you can do with those things, but it's still just two ways of hitting the strings. Here's something a little different: a guitar being played with a couple pencils, ala a Yangqin (a Chinese hammered dulcimer).
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Guitar Hero for Real Guitars (plus hilarious variations)
I have mixed feelings about Guitar Hero: On the one hand, I can understand how it's fun. I also think it's a really good way to integrate and market music, since it's not just background music, but integral to the experience. Yet the experience.... is essentially just karaoke for guitar, an enhanced "air guitar" experience. Don't get me wrong, I actually think Air Guitaring is really neat, especially those competitions they do - If you've never seen clips of it, you should check it out.
My hesitations however, come from the fact that there are people out there who are REALLY good at it. The time spent perfecting a song on guitar hero... could have been spent playing and learning the real thing, and it just seems like such a waste. Perhaps I'm being harsh here, because it's not like anyone says "the time spent jumping in Mario could have been used to become a better high-jumper"... because it's a video game after all. Yet because the experience is so close - the finger movements, the picking, even the whammy bar - it seems like it's a relatively small jump to make (that being said, I actually play guitar and I can say with confidence that I suck at "guitar hero", so I'm not saying the two are THAT similar. I'm just saying that it's relatively similar, compared to say... jumping in Mario, and jumping in real life, where there is really nothing in common at all).
Enter "Guitar Rising". Guitar Rising is a game that is currently in development, which can be easily summed up as: Guitar Hero.. for Real Guitars. Using an electric guitar as the controller, it's essentially a rolling, colour coded guitar tablature that follows the music. The biggest challenge for the developers though, is in making this an entertaining experience, rather than a chore. Learning an instrument involves lots of mistakes, frustrations, and patience - which is why learning an instrument isn't necessarily all fun and games. But as Guitar Hero has shown, people are willing to learn difficult and repetitive motions so long as it keeps entertaining. It will be very interesting to see how this product bridges the real instrument with the entertainment that guitar hero provides!
-----
Bonus Section!
Here's some hilarious Guitar Hero/Rock Band accessories and variations that exist...
Air Guitar Hero - Now you can play guitar hero, but without the plastic guitars!! Get closer to the real Air Guitar experience right at home!
Rock Band Fog Machine/Strobe Light!! - What good are the screaming girls and guitars... if you don't have a fog machine and a strobe light? Well fret no more! Rock Band has an official fog machine and strobe light. Hilarity.
And Finally...
Guitar Praise, because God hates rock music - Sick of the secular and sinful nature of popular music? Want to play Guitar Hero but your mom won't let secular music into the house? Then Guitar Praise is for you! ...Even if you don't like secular music, both guitar hero and rockband support custom songs, so why is there a need for this??
If you know of any other hilarious variations or add-ons, please share!
My hesitations however, come from the fact that there are people out there who are REALLY good at it. The time spent perfecting a song on guitar hero... could have been spent playing and learning the real thing, and it just seems like such a waste. Perhaps I'm being harsh here, because it's not like anyone says "the time spent jumping in Mario could have been used to become a better high-jumper"... because it's a video game after all. Yet because the experience is so close - the finger movements, the picking, even the whammy bar - it seems like it's a relatively small jump to make (that being said, I actually play guitar and I can say with confidence that I suck at "guitar hero", so I'm not saying the two are THAT similar. I'm just saying that it's relatively similar, compared to say... jumping in Mario, and jumping in real life, where there is really nothing in common at all).
Enter "Guitar Rising". Guitar Rising is a game that is currently in development, which can be easily summed up as: Guitar Hero.. for Real Guitars. Using an electric guitar as the controller, it's essentially a rolling, colour coded guitar tablature that follows the music. The biggest challenge for the developers though, is in making this an entertaining experience, rather than a chore. Learning an instrument involves lots of mistakes, frustrations, and patience - which is why learning an instrument isn't necessarily all fun and games. But as Guitar Hero has shown, people are willing to learn difficult and repetitive motions so long as it keeps entertaining. It will be very interesting to see how this product bridges the real instrument with the entertainment that guitar hero provides!
-----
Bonus Section!
Here's some hilarious Guitar Hero/Rock Band accessories and variations that exist...
Air Guitar Hero - Now you can play guitar hero, but without the plastic guitars!! Get closer to the real Air Guitar experience right at home!
Rock Band Fog Machine/Strobe Light!! - What good are the screaming girls and guitars... if you don't have a fog machine and a strobe light? Well fret no more! Rock Band has an official fog machine and strobe light. Hilarity.
And Finally...
Guitar Praise, because God hates rock music - Sick of the secular and sinful nature of popular music? Want to play Guitar Hero but your mom won't let secular music into the house? Then Guitar Praise is for you! ...Even if you don't like secular music, both guitar hero and rockband support custom songs, so why is there a need for this??
If you know of any other hilarious variations or add-ons, please share!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Simulating a Guitar with your Voice
I seem to be posting about vocals a lot lately...
Continuing on with the trend, here is a neat clip of a guy simulating a guitar with his voice, and - I presume - effects pedals. It's actually quite indistinguishable from the real guitars which are playing along side him, so I found it quite impressive.
We've all seen beatboxers simulate drums, cymbals, and all kinds of synth sounds and DJ scratches, as well as the "mouth trumpet", but I don't think guitars are that common. I've seen a couple other videos of people doing it, but it's never quite blown me away in its accuracy like this video. I tried to find out more about this guy, or where this came from, but I haven't had any luck. If anyone knows, please share!
Makes me realize what an awesome instrument we all have. What other instruments do you think could be simulated with your mouth?
The Man is Playing Guitar with His Mouth - The best video clips are here
Continuing on with the trend, here is a neat clip of a guy simulating a guitar with his voice, and - I presume - effects pedals. It's actually quite indistinguishable from the real guitars which are playing along side him, so I found it quite impressive.
We've all seen beatboxers simulate drums, cymbals, and all kinds of synth sounds and DJ scratches, as well as the "mouth trumpet", but I don't think guitars are that common. I've seen a couple other videos of people doing it, but it's never quite blown me away in its accuracy like this video. I tried to find out more about this guy, or where this came from, but I haven't had any luck. If anyone knows, please share!
Makes me realize what an awesome instrument we all have. What other instruments do you think could be simulated with your mouth?
The Man is Playing Guitar with His Mouth - The best video clips are here
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