Maszman Speaks! » guitar

Peter Frampton’s iconic Les Paul recovered

Tom — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:26:27 +0000

If you are, ahem, of a certain age you certainly remember Frampton’s iconic cover photo on the ‘Frampton Comes Alive’ album. The guitar he was holding, a 1954 Les Paul Custom with three pickups, was thought to have been lost in a plane crash in the Caribbean over thirty years ago. But fans of Frampton on Curacao managed to locate the plane wreckage and recovered the guitar. Gibson confirmed the guitar as Frampton’s and he was reunited with in recently in Nashville.

Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists

Tom — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:44:24 +0000

Rolling Stone asked guitarists who are the 100 Greatest Guitarists. Let the arguments begin!

Trey Anastasio and the art of improvisation

Tom — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:34:22 +0000

Trey Anastasio of Phish talks about the art of improvisation, among other things.

Some of the techniques he talks about utilizing with the band I’ve done with my guitar teacher, Steve Greene. Learning to listen to the people you’re playing with is harder than it seems, especially if you’re like me and not used to playing in groups.

Aug. 10, 1909: Leo Fender and the Heart of Rock â€˜nâ€™ Roll | This Day In Tech | Wired.com

Tom — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:07:48 +0000

Aug. 10, 1909: Leo Fender and the Heart of Rock â€˜nâ€™ Roll | This Day In Tech | Wired.com.

Glen Campbell has Alzheimer’s

Tom — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 12:42:44 +0000

When I was growing up, there were few opportunities to see music performed live on television. Most of it was just lip-synced shows like American Bandstand. Even as a fledgling guitarist I could tell when it was being faked. Then in the summer of 1968 along came the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, a replacement for the Smother’s Brothers. Although I didn’t know it at the time, he had been a session musician and even a touring member of the Beach Boys prior to the show. Glen could really play and his show had plenty of famous musical guest stars. His career took off from there, and eventually included roles in a number of movies, including the original True Grit.

Of course, most people remember him more for his high-profile arrest and the mug shot. But that was probably an early warning sign because he just announced that he has Alzheimer’s Disease and is embarking on a farewell tour.

In tribute, I’ve included a MP3 of a version of Glen’s Wichita Lineman recorded in studio with the Stone Temple Pilots. Wichita Lineman

Google doodle lets you play a recordable guitar ditty in honor of Les Paul — Engadget

Tom — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 12:17:15 +0000

Google doodle lets you play a recordable guitar ditty in honor of Les Paul — Engadget.

Pat Metheny on Kenny G

Tom — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:08:00 +0000

Oh my, Pat Metheny doesn’t think much of Kenny G. Not much at all.

50: Guitars — LA Times Magazine

Tom — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:12:28 +0000

50: Guitars — LA Times Magazine.

Real wood

Tom — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:50:53 +0000

A close look at the bridge of my Heritage H-575 archtop guitar (link is to a newer version than I have).

Django Reinhardt on the iPad and YouTube

Tom — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:48:34 +0000

I didn’t watch the iPad keynote, but the WSJ reports that the music chosen was by none other than Django Reinhardt, the Gypsy jazz guitarist. Django was an amazing player, even moreso when you realize that he could only use two fingers of his left (fretting) hand, the result of a fire in his caravan years earlier. But other than still photos, there wasn’t really any known movie footage of his playing until recently, when a snippet of him playing J’attendrai was included on a DVD dedicated to StÃ©phane Grappelli, the violinist in the Quintette of the Hot Club of France. That snippet is on YouTube. If you thought Django’s playing was hard to emulate, seeing how he played should just make it worse.

Thanks to Garret at dangerousmeta! for finding this.