ZT Amps Strat Giveaway Oct 4, 2010 Deadline!!!

Enter by 10/4/10 to win a Fender American Standard 3 color sienna burst Stratocaster

Hurry! Enter by Oct. 4, 2010!

www.ztamplifiers.com/stratcontest

The ZT folks who make those 200W lunchbox amps wanna give somebody a USA Strat. I don't know why they're not giving away one of their amps, but the Strat will do. But while you're over there entering (it's simple) get acquainted with those crazy little amps. They're bulletproof and way too loud for their size, which is probably why Billy Gibbons as been spotted using them!

Two little ZT Lunchboxes just below bass drum.

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Pink Floyd: The Black Strat - 3rd Edition Expanded

Just Released Sept. 15, 2010 in soft cover, the revised adventures of David Gilmour's legendary Black Strat includes "many" previously unpublished photos that have come to light, and stories from the Strat's history.

Pink Floyd - The Black Strat: A History of David Gilmour's Black Fender Stratocaster - Revised and Updated 3rd Edition (Book)

Stratoblogster Digs The Stones!

The Flintstones that is. Older than The Rolling Stones? 

Yeah, sorta.

Google let us all know that today is the 50th Anniversary of the Flintstones, who have been together longer than The Rolling Stones. AND, since they're pre-historic they're also older than some of The Rolling Stones too.

Don't even think about getting an order of ribs like that nowadays, especially if you drive a friggin' Prius! Cars and chicks were really strong back then!

In honor of this special day here's a link to the Stratoblogster BBQ Sauce formula. Try it out in your own kitchen lab! It's 100% effective and safe on most surfaces. Can be used as a relic guitar primer prep.

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Line 6 POD HD Multi-effects AMP MODELING

High-Def has come to amp modeling too. Remember the days when HD meant "Heavy Duty"? Now HD "High-Def" is everywhere. And in the case of amp modeling, the High-Def is about vintage & retro tube amp gear. That's right "High-Def, HD Retro"! I just made up a new term!


From latest Line 6 press release:

"Over the last few years, we've had teams working on assembling a museum-quality collection of vintage guitar amps, restoring each amp back to its pristine state, and developing new HD amp modeling technology. The result is a collection of amp models that far exceeds our expectations and is the biggest news in POD since POD itself." 

"...pristine state..."

So, if you're into the modeling thing, it's getting better- High-Def better! And Line 6 is launching 3 new amp modeling multi-effects unitis, the HD300, HD400 & HD500.

Check out the entire Line 6 press release at sonicstate.com

Musicians Friend Line 6 Directory - Check availability.
 

A few other products we're anxious for in High-Def:

Starbucks High-Def Latte's
Depend HD
McDonalds Big Mac HD
Prilosec OTC HD
Crayola HD 64 with HD Sharpener
Miller Lite Triple Hopped HD (Still no flavor-- or your money back!)
Viagra HD (Really seek medical assistance after 4 hours! I mean REALLY!)

And we're still trying to get used to Jay Leno's chin in HD...

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Mike Imbasciani - Young Florida Guitar Wonder

13 Year Old Playin' the Bars in SW Florida!

Mike Imbasciani of Port Charlotte, Florida joins our Young Guitar Wonders directory. He got that Squier Bullet at age 5, did his first public gig at 10 and looks to be workin' pretty steady these days. Besides some original tunes, Mike's set lists are mainly 60's - 70's classics. Discover more about Mike Imbasciani at the following links:

News-Press.com - Fort Myers, FL online news article

www.mikeimbasciani.com - Bio, Schedule, more Youtube links, etc.

Young Guitar Wonders

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Ronnie Wood UK Strat Auction?

What £110K Strat Auction? My eBay UK search result for "Ron Wood" brought up the Antiques category with page displaying a sterling tea set. No kiddin'!

British media is buzzing today about a Strat of Ron Wood's hitting eBay for some ungodly amount...

Guitar Player Finger Tip Condition

Not Just Calluses?

I recently observed something which might be better explained by a medical expert. This is only an observation, so there's no lesson here about improving your playing. But maybe other guitar players have noticed this phenomenon.

The tire inflation illustration helps my nifty analogy, ok.

Fender Masterbuilt Chris Fleming Showmaster

Summer 2003 NAMM Show Special - "Your Name Here"

That's right, you read right, the fretboard inlay says, "Your Name Here". And it's a set neck. And it has a Tele headstock.

Hendrix Painting by Late Denny Dent

Jimi Hendrix Art by Late Performance Artist "Speed Painter" Denny Dent

8' x 7' signed Acrylic Painting
Listing ID# 280566538711

eBay search results for "Jimi Hendrix ART"-- sorting by highest price first, reveal some interesting memorabilia which includes Hendrix inspired art, beautiful paintings, etc.

Denny Dent was the artist who created the above painting in the 90's.

Scotch Tiger SRV Pickguard Backplate Set

Clear Strat/Tele Pickguards, Image & Patterns Underneath

These pickguards keep their graphics no matter how much the pick scratches 'em because the image transfers are underneath clear plastic. Cool idea!

Mayones Regius Trans-Red Pro 6

Mayones Guitars of Poland brings Euro-Strat Sexiness to USA!

This trans-red Regius Pro 6 Mayones model is currently in the USA, listed at eBay by NYC's customguitarboutique.com


kelmad2006 - CGB's eBay user ID - 100% positive feedback
(mention Stratoblogster when bidding)

Serving a largely European metal/prog guitar market, Mayones instruments reflect Renaissance aesthetics moreso than dark Medieval weaponry themes-- as the above model demonstrates.

Not unlike Italian builders, Mayones is more into sexy than intimidate, focusing on flowing lines, color and beautiful top grade woods.

Dick Dale Feature at NPR

NPR's Weekend Edition just posted an online Dick Dale article with a podcast link and some classic video!

Click Here to check it out!

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Frank Verrilli 3 HB Hybrid Monster

8 Stratocasters + 1 Telecaster = ???

Boutique art guitar builder Frank Verrilli is at it again in his secret workshop/laboratory. He sent me the above pic of eight Strats and one Tele, and a rather sturdy lookin' bench of reclaimed hemlock, which he combined through some kind of Leo Fender meets Willy Wonka molecular transmutation process (Frank has this machine, see...)

Guitar Solo Nutritional Content Standards

What's the minimum nutritional standard for a guitar solo? 

NationalGuitarMuseum.com has an article entitled "Why Guitar Players Should Listen to Sax Players", which reminded me of a couple weird experiences I have...

TrueFire's Kings of Tone Review

Jeff McErlain & TrueFire deliver the goods with this one!

NYC Session guitarist Jeff McErlain & the good folks at TrueFire were kind enough to send me Jeff's Kings of Tone interactive instruction DVD for review. I think they just knew I really needed this stuff, especially since they also included Jeff's "50 Blues Guitar Licks You Must Know". And know them, I must now!

TrueFire is one of the top guitar & bass interactive lesson resources out there. You can either access them online or get the DVD's. Their contributing artist roster is a huge who's who of killer players i.e. Larry Carlton, Scott Henderson, Frank Gambale, Eric Johnson, Buckethead, Lee Ritenour, etc., etc, etc...

FCS Champagne Sparkle Broker Ltd - Friday #187

'55 Relic Guitar Broker Limited Run Stratocaster

Friday Strat #187

The heavily crazed checking in this flake finish is disturbing. It actually conjures images of James Gandolfini throwing Patricia Arquette through the glass shower door in "True Romance".

And that's why I blog about Strats.

Fort Lauderdale based Cars and Guitars always has interesting inventory. This Champagne Sparkle is a one off Fender Custom Shop special, listed as new with tweed case and all candy.

Cars and Guitars eBay Store - 100% positive feedback.

 Friday Strat Archive

Hi-end Strats

Current Listings - Top Dealers

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Buddy Guy's 58 Burst and Bobby D

"He takes one look at the guitar, and says 'Son, I want you to hang around 'til after my show-- I wanna TALK to you.'"

All post images provided by Bobby DeVito

In response to yesterday's post about Buddy Guy's upcoming "Living Proof" release, our friend Bobby D let me know about his experience with Buddy and a certain '58 Strat. You'll wanna read that post (previous link) first to appreciate both the title and the Strat's hang tag message in the story below.  jp

That's MY old '58 laying in bed with him!
by Bobby DeVito

I was working with Silvertone Records/BMG back in 1995, and did a show with Buddy at Sarasota Blues Fest.


A couple of years prior, I had gotten the vintage Strat "bug" again...

Fender 2010 FSR Standard Model Strat Colors

FSR "Fender Special Run" Orange Sunfire Flake & Root Beer Finishes.

From 1969 Schwinn catalog

Yeah, so I was a little rough on the Blacktops last week, but I'm diggin' the retro-American 60's cheeze elegance of Fender's current FSR flake finishes...

Buddy Guy is Living Proof!

"My first wife said to me, 'It's me or the guitar,' and I picked up my guitar and left. We still laugh about that..." Buddy Guy

(photo: lastfm.com by Tarkovsky86)

Dunno what's better, the above quote or the photograph! 

Either way, Buddy Guy has a new release due out October 26, 2010 entitled "Living Proof" featuring a guest appearance by B.B. King, which is reportedly the very first studio recording these two legends have done together. 

Nightwatcher's House of Rock has the full scoop!

NOTE: CLICK HERE for a story about Buddy's rare '58 three color burst, maple neck Strat.

Art Guitars by Kit Carson

Arizona Jewelry Artist's Hi-End Guitar Projects

www.kitcarsonjewelry.com

Spotted this at Truth In Shredding blog recently. Kit Carson- that's his real name too- lives in the desert outside of Phoenix where he makes cool jewelry as well as a few guitar projects a year. And only a few guitars, because these are exclusive art guitars that take awhile to complete. The 3 guitars displayed at the website (see photo link above) were built in coordination with Fender Custom Shop...

Guitar Noize "Blue Noize" Results Nearly Complete!

The Blue Noize Blues guitar solo competition hosted by Guitar Noize blog had a huge turn out! 442 guitar players entered the video contest.

The results are "nearly" complete because they've finally come up with a top 20 list, and are currently working out who will be top 3. That's a lot of work! Winners will receive some nice gear prizes too. They didn't get 442 entries by offering Snickers Bars.


Check out their favorite 20 at the link above!

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Girl Rock Nation - Sponsored by Fender

At Stratoblogster, we know women can rock, and have been featuring the best guitar playing girls here for over 4 years.

Ana Popovic, one of our original Strat-o-Sisters currently graces the Artist Corner page on the new Girl Rock Nation website...(more below)

Vintage 66 Fender Super Reverb

Nice condition Blackface from Seattle's Guitarville

North Seattle's legendary Guitarville has been in business since 1958. I used to pass the place every day when I lived there. They've been an eBay member since 1998, and are 100% rated, which is pretty remarkable. There must be some secret fine art to never pissing anyone off.

Taylor Marvin's Red Rocks Bench Guitar

Here's an update on Denver based Taylor Marvin one of our previously featured Young Guitar Wonders whose newest guitar was crafted from bench #13 of Colorado's legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater.


The builder is Brent Worthington.

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Fender 70's Reissue Natural Ash Strat

American Vintage RI Series

Yes, it has the bullet truss rod and fat headstock style decal.

Frank Zappa Statue in Baltimore

September 19th, 2010 - Zappa Bust Unveiled

AP photo

He seems to be saying, "Shut up and cross the street!"

Yesterday a statue of Frank Zappa was unveiled in his home town of Baltimore, Maryland.

Fender Blacktop Series - Pushing the Envelope?

Ok, so "Blacktop" is just the series name. The guitars come in various colors. Just so ya know.

See! A red Blacktop Strat!

Fender's new Blacktop Series guitars are generating a wave of excitement! People everywhere are abuzz for this revolutionary, cutting edge approach of configuring Strats, Tele's & J-types with HUMBUCKERS!

John Suhr Pro C2 Surf Green

New Suhr Pro Series

Virginia based Rocket Music's eBay Store lists a nice array of new guitars from Suhr, Tuttle, Melancon, Gadow & PRS... (read more)

Kill the Guy With the Ball - Steve Vai

How do we follow the 40th Anniversary of Hendrix passing?

"Mr. Vai, take us out of here, warp factor 7!"

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This Here People Farm Misses Jimi Hendrix

Today the world smells burned.

"Sensationalistic accounts of the final months of Jimi Hendrix’s life portray him as a drug-ravaged shell of his pyrotechnic self, but the music Hendrix made as fate’s clock ticked tells another story – one of a profoundly talented musician who remained at the height of his creative powers..."

Ted Drozdowski 7/08/2010 Gibson Lifestyle Blog

"...Is this true?

Please let me talk to you,

let me talk to you.

I have lived here before the days of ice

And of course this is why I'm so concerned

And I come back to find the stars misplaced

And the smell of a world that has burned

The smell of a world that has burned

Well maybe maybe, it's just a change of climate..."

Lyrics excerpt- "Up From the Skies" Jimi Hendrix

REDRUM

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Best Female Guitarists? More Than You Knew!

Greatest Top Girl Guitar Players at Stratoblogster!

Photo of the artist Bittybox courtesy of Bittybox.com. Photo ©2007 Deborah Davis

Seems like everywhere ya look-- even in women's media, the top "rated" ladies of guitar continue to be Lita Ford, Heart's Nancy Wilson and Joan Jett, followed by various "dangerous" appearing punk chicks who don't actually play guitar very well but look good enough holding one to get the attention of journalists who don't play guitar...

Grosh Retro Classic Daphne Blue - Friday #186

Don Grosh S-type Guitar

This guy is also selling a Sonic blue Grosh ElectraJet, so I was really torn on which to feature. But today we're defaulting to the more standard config of the Retro Classic. Also, today I'm feelin' more Daphne than Sonic...