Marc Mann, Strat-o-Brother Obscure?

Concert for George - MVP Guitarist

After digesting last Friday's web stream of Concert for George, compliments of www.georgeharrison.com , on what would have been Harrison's 68th birthday, I've come away most impressed with the guitar work of Marc Mann-- as well as the sitar of Anoushka Shankar.

Although the performance goes back to 2002, this was my first viewing of an extremely well orchestrated production which took place in London's Royal Albert Hall...

Nash S-57 Salmon - Friday #206

Relic'd Salmon With Anodized Pickguard-- SICK!

 Don't walk away Renee...

Whoa! So, this guitar is kinda like that feral cat you have to talk real nice to and give it treats for like a week before it'll even come out from under the sofa and let you pet it. Yeah, Bill Nash can really bring out the forlorn, found behind the cleaning supplies in some Eastern Colorado truck stop bathroom in 1967 vibe. I can hear Tammy Wynette on the juke box over by the pin ball machine. "Stan Beyerman!" (her manager?)

Anyway, ANDY'S GUITARS, ETC. of Tallahassee, FL has a nice little selection boutique guitars by Nash, Suhr, Trussart, Melancon and more. Nice stuff!

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Sloppy Joe Shuffle Swing Thing...

Tribute Insult to Robben Ford

Tribute to Comfort Food!

Stratoblogster digs his Tele too!

I stopped using picks...

In favor of Sloppy Joes

We got snowed in the last couple days. And when I gets chilly, I usually puts the Strat aside, and warms up with the old Tele Thinline. Yessir! Things have been just alright since giving up picks, albeit a bit noisy-- not as bad as givin' up the Kools though. Still, ya gotta do something extra when ya gots no rhythm section... and only a sofa section. So I've aptly named my current transitional picking style, "SLOPPY JOE".

Warmin' my bones with Miss Thinline today resulted in today's "Sloppy Joe Shuffle Swing Thing". From my sofa section to yours! But if you're really into Robben Ford, ya better listen to him instead.


Stratoblogster prefers pedals by T-REX Engineering. CLICK HERE for T-REX listings and merchant directory.

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Free Streaming Concert for George Feb 25

George Harrison's Birthday Tribute Concert Online!

 Trivia: George's "Rock" Strat was originally Sonic Blue.

Tomorrow (Friday, February 25th, 2011) marks what would have been George Harrison's 68th birthday. George left us in Nov. of 2002, and a tribute concert was organized later that month by his family along with Eric Clapton & Jeff Lynne. As a special birthday observance, this concert will stream online for 24 hours starting at 8:00 AM GMT, this Friday.

Access the concert at: www.georgeharrison.com 

Several musicians performed besides Clapton, including Sir Paul, Ringo, Ravi Shankar, Tom Petty & others. Get the full scoop w/set list at this Wiki Link. I'm gonna burn a patchouli stick for peace when Shankar plays. You should do that too!

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Fender Custom Shop Jeff Beck Strats

Great Deal on FCS Jeff Beck Surf Green
(listing says "Seafoam", but it's Surf)

FCS Stamp

$2890!

52youngster eBay Top-rated Seller (100% feedback)

Current Jeff Beck Strat Listings

Note: For best effect, read the following in the voice of Andy Rooney (that old guy at the end of 60 Minutes).

We've featured lots of Jeff Beck Strats, but this is our first Fender Custom Shop Jeff Beck Stratocaster Custom Artist Series model. Actually, I'm a bit puzzled, even mildly annoyed with this Artist Series model represented in both production and Custom Shop versions. Both versions spec basically the same, and include similar candy besides the COA. The FCS, generally selling at $3100 - $3600, is price pointed at double the production version, which sells at around $1600 not a cheap USA production Strat...

Happy Birthday Johnny Winter!

Johnny Winter Turns 67 Today

Time sure flies when you're havin' a good time! Here's  Johnny's legendary Woodstock performance in '69. Woodstock had some great guitar moments with Hendrix, Alvin Lee, Santana and Johnny Winter. I know I'm leavin' out some others, but just these four were plenty!

 Johhny's still doin' it too. Check his latest news and touring info at:  http://www.johnnywinter.net/

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Treating New Guitar Strings with WD-40

Is "Pre-treating" Better Than Coated Strings?

Okay, so ya gotta stick with me on this one, cuz I've done my homework! After being told about soaking new strings in WD-40 (wounds only), by someone who's been doing it for years, I decided to check it out for myself.

Bear with me here, and see what you think, ok...

Twister 2 Stereo Chorus-Flanger from T-REX

Deep, Sick & Funky Flanger!

Actual Stratoblogster In-House Demo. Without a Hat...

The chorus is rich too, especially in stereo! But I'm goin after this crazy flanger here. The new Twister 2 from T-Rex adds greater tonal and regen control over the original Twister, because the folks at T-Rex listen to their users out there, and are willing to go the extra steps to make product improvements.

When it comes to Flangers, I'm really into the way Frank Marino & Eric Johnson use it in solos. Frank Zappa too. EVH's "Cradle Will Rock" sound is a given, although many players won't use a flanger beyond that context. But it doesn't have to be a one trick pony, and can add expression and color to many grooves.

Anyway, I'm very impressed with the T-Rex line overall. These are top grade, well built pedals from people who really care! 

http://t-rex-effects.com/

Find Best Deals on T-Rex pedals:

www.guitargearstores.com - Top Pedal Sources Directory Links


Click Here for more about Sanyo's "Pedal Juice" lithium ion power unit. Say goodbye to 9V alkalines!

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Kendrick K-Spot Tweed Combo

Super Light - All Tube

 "K Spot"

Here's a box of Special K you can really get excited about. So I made a cereal joke instead of a G-spot joke... And believe it or not, this 35W-112 combo weighs only 35 lbs! That's because the cab is built from 100 year, old growth pine they say is very light, yet strong and I suppose resonant as well. Actually they compare it to balsa wood in weight, but let's not exaggerate! Still, 35 lbs is pretty impressive, and very shippable.

This popular Kendrick model is promoted as touch sensitive. It's all tube, and point to point hand wired in Texas, by real Texans. Yessiree! 

Lighthouse Sound in Salem, Ohio is listing this one as used, but very clean, and nicely below the cost of a new K Spot. So check 'em out.

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Best of Friday Strat - McStrat, Strat-o-Burger!

I Deserve a Break Today? What?!

 McStrat With Cheese!

Good question. Maybe not. Either way, the truth of the matter is that I just discovered today isn't Thursday. It's really Friday, and I didn't have the Friday Strat together yet... Pretty bad, I know.

So here's something from our drive-thru archive. In fact, this is our Flagship Friday Strat Master of Ceremonies Royale, originally featured in December of 2006 as Friday Strat #11. Built to my exact recipe on PhotoShop by our pal Smitty of The Smitty Factor aka Popeye Khan, this wonder of Stratoliciousness features only the finest ingredients:

100% ALL BEEF BODY

FRET FRIES

PICKLE UPS by Seymour Gherkin (HumPucker at the bridge)

PICKGUARD by Kraft American 

(100% processed cheese food product-- only the best!)

Dippin Cup Knobs by Heinz "57 Varieties"

Toasted Baguette Neck & Headstock

Relic Relish (optional)

Strings by Ernie Ballzarella String Cheese

Lardtail (no trem)

Golden Arch Strap & Doggy Gig Bag also included

"You mind... if I have some of your tasty beverage to wash this down?"

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Eugene Gales "Shakin' Off the Cobwebs"

Eric's Older Brother Gettin' INSPIRATIONAL!!!

Man! This lefty-upsidedown Gales family dynamic has me over-under-sideways-down tryin' to figure out the opposite push-pull factors (messin' with me!). But mostly, it's cool just watchin' big brother Eugene Gales get excited and into the spirit with some killin' riffs! Cobwebs? What cobwebs?!

Eugene has been gettin' back into guitar these days- with some coaxing from Eric- and is uploading some stuff on his Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/user/eg06 . I think Eugene needs to do these videos regularly, including the special tips, advice and trivia. In the above edition we discover a T-Bone Walker lick that will never get old, and we're strongly informed that a Tube Screamer is essential for every guitar player! We're also shown how you plow through mistakes like a bulldozer in a Stephen King flick. And finally, it's just the great Hendrix Blues feel which the Gales folks can just nail down! 

This is why I have to step up my game with my own demo videos... It's all about the attitude, and gettin' into your natural state baby! Thanks Eugene!!!

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Vintage 64 Landau Stratocaster

Michael Landau Strat - White with Green Pickguard

7.6 lbs  - Ser# L5876X - COA by Mike available

Current Item ID# 200565507743

L.A. Vintage Gear 100% rated

(Listing has tons of pics and details. Legit!)

"I bought this fine '64 Stratocaster in the late '80s. I used it live and in the studio many times with my band Burning Water, maybe most notably "Save Sweet Sister" from the Mood Elevator record. There is a picture of the band on the inside of the first Burning Water record with me holding this guitar. It was refretted by Jim Tyler when I first bought it, the tuners have been changed and the pickups had to be rewound, they had lost their juice - John Suhr rewound the pickups a couple of years ago to Suhr "FL" specs. “ Michael Landau

Performance video from '91

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James Taylor Guitar Lessons

JT Launching Lesson Videos at his Website

If you read Jas Obrecht's October 2010 interview with Eric Johnson, you might get why we're pluggin' James Taylor's guitar stuff. We're not trying to convert anyone to Folkism.

www.jamestaylor.com/guitarlessons

JT has some real ambient chord voicings which sound pretty sweet turned up on a clean Strat with some fat delay. EJ knows. Taylor just recently began a project of adding videos at his site which reveal his techniques and forms. These videos are high quality and very well produced too! So far, his first lesson includes a small introduction clip, his secret fingernail prep recipe (in fine detail) and a simple chord progression called "Little Wheel", which is  essential James Taylor .

Check it out!

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Empress Multidrive Pedal

Combining the Vocabulary of GAIN

3" x 4"

 I dunno, that's a lot of knobs...

The folks at Empress Effects have released their new Multidrive pedal intended to cover the full gain & dirt spectrum. And their above video is determined to show us as they bring out a variety of popular amps for some A/B testing.

Chantel McGregor - UK Strat-o-Sister

Guitar Girls

"...And if my baby don't love me no more, well I sho know his brutha will!" (RED HOUSE, Girl Style)

photo by Paul Webster @Flickr

Worried you weren't meant to play guitar cuz of your tiny, dainty hands? Not Chantel McGregor! When it comes crankin' out some Red House, this young lady from Britain is anything but petite. At the 4:00 mark of the video she sets up for a big bend where she moves her left thumb up from underneath the neck. Ya just hafta watch for it! But mostly you just need to check out the whole video. Chantel has a bunch more clips on Youtube.

The guitar woman seems partial to Music Man axes, as we see her sportin' both a black and white MM.

I'm also quite proud to have found Chantel without Laurie Monk's help too-- although I'm sure our UK readers are probably already well acquainted with her. So why didn't anyone let me know?!

At first I thought the bass player was SNL's Bill Hader! But that's not really Bill... or is it?


www.chantelmcgregor.com


Chantel McGregor interview at www.earlyblues.com

Strat-o-Sisters Directory Archive

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DeTemple 56 Pablo Blue

Brand New Unplayed - No Waiting

Flame maple neck, ash body (probably one piece) and all that Sherman Oaks tuned titanium hardware.

Current Item ID #250773189016

Every now and then I search "DeTemple Guitar" at eBay just for fun. Currently there are 5-6 listed, and all are listed by Tradarama who also have an eBay Store. Besides the '56 Strat-type above, the rest are T-types.

According to Jim Palotta of Tradarama, this "Pablo Blue" model was brought to him in the unopened carton by the person who ordered the guitar. That's what he says too! So imagine ordering a DeTemple, waiting 3 years (or whatever the hell it is...), paying for it, finally receiving the guitar-- and then not even unpacking it or looking at it-- just taking it to someone for consignment (I assume) and when it's all said and done he's probably still into this guitar for well over a grand. Probably an ex-spouse or mortgage thing at the root of it all too. Do I have to get all CSI about this? Almost gets me hittin' the Prilosec right now myself! Good God almighty!

Anyway, these DeTemple guitars are top of the Stratoproto cosmos scale. Visit their link for the full course menu & wine list.

Even that former Fed guy is spinnin' out about this one...

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Jeff Beck Pulls Off Two Grammys!

Chairman of the Strat Does Well!

Besides the Lady Gaga in the egg thing, and some of the expected pop horsesh#*, last nite's Grammy's weren't too bad for actual artists. Jeff Beck was nominated for five, and managed to take home two-- actually three, when you count his involvement with Herbie Hancock's Best Pop Collaboration Grammy. Jeff's two were: Best Pop Instrumental "Nessun Dorma" & Best Rock Instrumental "Hammerhead" from the Emotion and Commotion album.

Other significant awards were Neil Young's Grammy for Best Rock Song "Angry World". And believe it or not, this is Neil's FIRST ever Grammy. Seems kinda weird huh. Well, when songs like Old Man & Heart of Gold came out, the Grammy's weren't hip enough I guess.

Another award I really dig is Best New Artist for Esperanza Spalding. This girl is a serious badass Jazz musician who sings and plays upright bass. You must check her out!

Best Rock Album went to Muse. A spooky thing about this is that just yesterday, I was watching an interview clip of the late Gary Moore in which he mentioned Muse as a newer Rock band he dug.

So, I'm officially dubbing Jeff Beck the C.O.S./ Chairman of the Strat nowadays. Any problem with that?

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T-Rex Reptile 2 & ToneBug OD

Song for My Newest Hat!



We're really slammin' it into that little Flipcam mic here! FFFZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! All neck pickup too.


Just another one of my fine video presentations... But seriously, we're really diggin' the T-Rex stuff. And running the new Reptile 2 Delay & Tonebug Overdrive into the Vibrolux on 3 makes a big space. Using the neck pickup only (Sliders 59's pickups).


Find Best Deals on T-Rex pedals:


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Gary Moore Doing Red House With a Red Stratocaster!

Yeah, Gary Moore Played Strats too!

Lot's of amazing Gary Moore videos are popping up following his recent passing. This one was uploaded only a few days ago. According to National Guitar Museum (at Facebook), this clip is from a 2004 event celebrating the Stratocaster's 50th anniversary. Although Moore was more often seen with a Les Paul, he was a Top Gun fighter pilot with a Strat.

The last 3 minutes of this nine and a half minute performance are pretty intense. I didn't know if he was gonna run out of neck or strings were gonna be breakin'. Fortunately, he flew a successful mission; landing her safely on the the carrier deck without mishap.

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Blonde 2010 Custom Shop 60 Strat

Special Order AAA Flame Maple Neck

"I may not want to admit it. I'm just a fool for your stockings I believe..." Billy Gibbons

curr item ID # 220714368992

Bizarre Guitar-Reno is listing a several new Fender Custom Shop Strats at their 100% rated eBay Store-- especially 60 NOS models in several colors. This particular model is interesting as it was a special order configuration 60 "Nocaster Blonde" finish with gold hdwr and AAA flame maple neck. But evidently the customer's fickle tendencies and OCD-like G.A.S. issues had him also smitten with a new Relic model instead, thus resulting in a sudden annulment of a very brief marriage to the Blonde.

Yeah... left her for a floozy. This sort of thing is known to happen.  But how could one be so thoughtless, to try and handle less than two.  

So now the dealer has knocked the price down a bit, although it's still like new including hang tags, candy, COA and case. A browse around their FCS Strat inventory price pointing does indeed show lesser appointed configs marked significantly higher. So if this combination speaks to you, it seems to be a pretty good deal for a good as new- albeit jilted- Custom Shop model. 

Sorta sad, but... Sweet things can always get sweeter.

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Guitar Shop TV Launching Soon!

New Video Oriented Guitar Resource Site





The folks at www.guitarshoptv.com were kind enough to let us know they'll be launching soon. Check out the above video, and you'll see this is some hi-end quality stuff! They have several shows ready to post, and lots more material in the can. I don't yet know who is behind Guitar Shop TV, but from the clip, these folks are well connected. Looks like top entertainment for the guitar community!

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Xotic XS-4 Josh Smith Model Guitar - Friday #205

Full Review by Bobby DeVito-- "Shokunin!"

If this clip isn't enough... Click Here for the Hi-Gain bonus vid!

Our good friend and contributor Bobby D is very excited about Xotic guitars, and offered his extensive review and video demo for this week's Friday Strat feature. This is the same Xotic who bring us those great pedals, cable and the Raw Vintage accessory line of fine saddles, springs and pickups. I became familiar with Xotic guitars during our Chris Duarte interview. Chris has a signature model with them. So check out the video as well as Bobby's full write-up below: 

"I have been interested in Xotic Guitars for several years now. After seeing them in the hands of several great players, and feeling them up at the NAMM show, I really had my interest piqued...

Jeff Beck Plans Les Paul Tribute Tour!

The "IRIDIUM TOUR"

photo: life.com

Weren't we just talking about Jeff Beck's upcoming project with Rod Stewart? Jeff is a busy, busy man these days, and I don't think he's getting much time in the hot rod shop anymore. A Les Paul tribute tour is currently in the works, called "The Iridium Tour", which is basically taking the 95th birthday show on the road. The photo above includes singer Imelda May who'll be bringing her Mary Ford vocals to the tour. 

MSNBC just posted an interview with Jeff, which goes into details on all the latest stuff he's doing.

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Suhr Pro S-3 Charcoal Burst

NEW - Suhr Pro Series

Charcoal Burst

What better way to help neutralize our earlier posted yellow Strat experience than with a good dose of charcoal burst! Here's a nice example of understated elegance in the fullest sense. The scale pic reveals the natural maple binding which separates flamed maple top from a black finished basswood body.

This guitar is new and currently listed by Connecticut based Suhr dealer: The Guitar Hangar

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Robbie Calvo Launches Guitar Lesson Site!

Discover Groove and Sweet Chops with Robbie Calvo!

That's right-- Groove & Sweet Chops. And watching the above video will reveal my choice of terms describing Robbie Calvo's playing. I first saw Calvo in one of Billy Penn's Amp Show demo vids. This guy has really nice phrasing & vibrato, and he knows tone too!

Robbie is in the process of launching his own guitar instruction website. He's an old school GIT grad & instructor who's been doing session work in both London and Nashville. Anyone familiar with the True Fire guitar lesson site may have seen Calvo there. The new site is looking good so far with lots of stuff showing up soon. Classic Rock and Blues players looking to expand into the Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Jeff Golub zones will find just the help you need with Robbie Calvo. 

Links:

www.robbiecalvoguitar.com


www.youtube.com/user/robbiecalvoguitar


www.facebook.com/RobbieCalvoGuitar - Join here for latest site updates!

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DL Guitar Cable Giveaway!

David Laboga Cable at Custom Guitar Boutique!

Kelcey at customguitarboutique.com NYC, is carrying the DL/David Laboga line of cable. DL is a European made product, and pretty popular over there. This month, CGB is giving away a 20' DL guitar/bass cable to one of their lucky Facebook friends. Just stop by their FB page, hit the "Like" and post the following on their wall: "David Laboga Cables Wanted".

That's it! Then on Feb. 28, somebody's gonna win a nice cable with a lifetime warranty. After that, watch for future monthly giveaways of more hi-end accessories. And if you also let them know Stratoblogster sent you, I think they may even toss in a pack of Bazooka Joe bubble gum or maybe a fine Little Debbie Snack Cake product.

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All Things Scott Henderson

Catch Up With Fusion Guitar's Big Dog

Gee, I haven't posted about Scott Henderson in awhile. Usually I include a cool video which ultimately gets removed from Youtube at Scott's request. However NOW, Scott has his own Youtube channel of clips he has presumably approved-- like the one above. The channel features various categories; past and more recent-- www.youtube.com/user/scott686. Don't miss the comedy playlist featuring Capt. Kirk Covington's "Giddyup Go" and Joan Baez tribute!

According to buzz at the Tribal Tech Addicts Facebook page, a new Tribal Tech album should be released in June '11 on Shrapnel/Tone Center Records. The somewhat recent video above features Henderson with the Scott Kinsey Group, which is basically T.T. sans bassist Gary Willis.

Another great place to catch up with Scott is the Scott Henderson Discussion pages where SH takes time to answer tons & tons of member questions about gear, technique, influences-- you name it. But if you're gonna register there to submit questions, be damn sure to read thru the archive because Scott and his moderator don't dig answering questions previously covered, nor do they dig lame & stupid questions not related to music. I'm just lettin' ya know because Scott left the discussion group for awhile due to the dumb ass element. The site is a valuable educational resource for people seriously interested in what a cutting edge, monster guitarist, his influences, projects and his tools are all about. Enough said there.

Scott continues to tour the world, avoiding the USA with the exception of L.A. area gigs. When not touring, gigging or recording, he's an Open Counseling faculty member at MI/GIT in Hollywood. 

Amazon's Scott Henderson "Store Page" maintains regular availability of the solo catalog, as well as Tribal Tech, VTT and misc. releases on CD & MP3.

Last but not least, we still see Scott in his signature Super Soft Washed Crew t-shirts by Big Dogs Sportswear -- guaranteed to make any guitar player run faster and jump higher.

www.scotthenderson.net

This IS THE shirt that Scott wears! Accept no substitutes!

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Extremely Yellow Stratocaster - Friday #204

Now that's a Yellow Strat!

2004 Fender Graffiti Yellow body with 2010 MIM neck and new hdwr.

I'll say it again-- "Now that's a yellow Strat!"

DBG GUITAR aka stratconnection.com specializes in Strat & Tele parts. They configured our Friday feature here for somebody somewhere who just might go bananas over a completely yellow Strat.

It could happen.

Of course, gold hardware makes sense too. And as the maple ages and eventually tints, the whole thing will meld into some kind of rich carmelized six string lemon bar of Stratoliciousness.

"They call it mellow yellow-- quite rightly."

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