The Best of The Best...Who is it??

Well, here's the real question. Who is the best guitar player of all time? Truthfully, we really can't say. Every great guitar player had different styles. Carlos Santana was always known for that classic jazzy sound that just took your breath away. Eddy Van Halen's signature style left people hanging as it went on and on through endless speed and perfection. Jimmy Hindrix was famous for those one of a kind licks that didn't quite sound right, but they sounded like Jimmy Hindrix. The ZZ Top brothers were always known for the slides they would play their solos with like in the song Sharp Dressed Man. So really, who is the best? Well, that's up to you to decide...

Acoustic Guitars

Acoustic guitars are a huge part of many types of music but especially country. They give a great warm background for any type of music in my opinion. My favorite brands of acoustic guitars are Washburn,  Breedlove, and Esteban. If you get a high end acoustic, it usually has a tuner built in which is great. As far as acoustics go, the less hardware, the cleaner sound you get. When it comes to acoustic/electric guitars, it's another story. These guitars are beautiful and usually hollow. They're full of technology, but the really great thing about them is you can bring them out to play for fun with your friends or plug it in the amp and have a pretty loud jam session. That's about it for acoustic guitars...keep it simple.

All the practice in the world...can't touch Slash and Billy Gibbons

Whammey Bar Video

The Art of the Wammey Bar

What do guitar players use a wammey bar for?? Does anyone really know? There isn't really a correct way to use it, but when you really need that soft bending sound in your solo, the wammey bar's the way to go. One thing to make sure of when you are using a wammey bar is that you don't push it down too far. If you do, you'll pull up the bracket and the pickups, and that ruins your guitar...not good. If you use it right though, the wammey bar is one of the best tools in the book.

Make Some Noise.

Marshall

Vox

Orange

One of the most important part of playing electric guitar is the quality of your amp. A good amp lets you have both clean and metal sounds on it, and it should let you have different effects such as delay, reverb, etc... My favorite brands of amps or Marshall, Vox, and Orange. Marshall amps are American classics. They reach back through time and give an extremely pure sound. Vox typically gives it all to you. This is what I play on. You have 12 different amps basically in one amp, and many, many effects that takes away the money and expenses needed to buy pedals. Orange amps are used for jazz and blues and have a soulful sound, and they look extremely cool.

What you need to know about how to play guitar...In a nutshell

The first few months of learning how to play guitar are very frustrating. Stick with it. Everything comes with time and practice. The first step is learning the string notes. Then, you should start learning chords. Once you know the chords, everything else falls into place. You are able to play full songs with the chords, and if you really understand them, variations of the chords are not hard to figure out. The tricky part of guitar is learning how to solo. First, learn the scales. Then learn how to manipulate the scales so it doesn't sound like a scale anymore...throw a couple bends or slides in, and change up the order.

Studio Les Paul...Just Like Mine:)

The beauty of playing an instrument like guitar is that there are so many sounds, styles, and music that can be a part of your music. I have four guitars, and to me they all have different personalities, like every guitar I've played. My black and white Studio Les Paul has a temper. I've already broken three strings on it playing solos. Whenever I pick it up I just want to jam to a song like Bad to the Bone. My sunburst fender has a sweet side. When I play it, it always comes out as a slow song or a blues sound. I also have a sunburst Waterstone Hollow-body, straight from Nashville. It has a perfect echo from all of the hardware and hand-crafted beauty inside it. When I play it, it always has a jazz/country sound. And last but not least, my Esteban acoustic guitar has a happy vibe to it. It feels like you are sitting on a beach somewhere just playing for fun with your friends. All guitars have different personalities, sounds, and feels that come with them. It is always important to pick a guitar that not only looks good but suits your taste in music and your attitude toward guitar.