The Search for Speed

Hey y'all - hope you're all enjoying the festive season. One quick thing before I launch into a blog post on every guitarists nightmare, Jim, Adam and I would all appreciate it if you could really quickly vote on The Tone King's awesome competition. Just click on where it says 'vote' in the previous sentence and vote for Jimstudios! Thanks a lot!

Now then... speed

The human race as an entity has always had a desire for speed. There is very little logic behind it admittedly as in many cases it increases danger - faster cars, faster planes, - but it appears we can't stop trying to quicken the pace of life. Forever we are searching for faster computers, quicker downloads, faster cures for diseases; apparently it would seem we are obsessed by it. And oh yes you guessed it, the pathogen that is speed has always been in music. Let me explain.

You see being able to do something quickly in many cases makes it more appealing. Hearing a drum fill made up of semiquavers (16th notes for all you across the pond) at about 80BPM is pretty dull. Hearing that same fill at 180BPM is much more impressive. Its the same on guitar, we want speed, and WE WANT IT NOW. Well I'm afraid to say there are no magical fixes and like I said earlier, here comes every guitarists worst nightmare - trying to get faster and faster.

The problem with speed is its rather scientific. Your muscles in your hand must be trained to move your fingers faster and faster (apologies if i've got my science wrong there, but my theory is correct). However the most crucial part of this is the movements must be clean and even. Try and follow me here - if you can move your first finger to your second finger very quickly, but your second to third is slow, then the pattern will be uneven and as a result you'll get an uneven sound *pause for breath*. There is a solution to this problem.

If anyone reading this takes music lessons you will have heard your teacher say more than once 'practice it slowly'. Trust me, they're not trying to annoy you. You're body must be forced to learn something new - its called muscle memory. You've already experienced this a lot learning chords and being able to change them quickly. Even an experienced guitarist will be constantly developing muscle memory. Once it is in place for a particular movement though you can start to speed it up.

Im not going to go into huge amounts of detail (at some point we might make a tutorial on speed but for now there's all sorts out there) but practice slowly. Its the key. If you're practicing a hammer on pull off pattern and want it to be really fast, practice on a clean tone on your amp and do it slow making sure everything sounds in time and nice and tidy. I hate to burst anyone's bubble at this point but you won't ever be able to play fast if you don't start slow.

Speed is a wonderful thing to have as a guitarist and it does distinguish you above the rest if you can play quickly. The likes of Mark Tremonti, Kirk Hammett, John Frusciante, Synyster Gates, Corey Beaulieu didn't learn to play fast, they learnt to play slow.

Peace, Linus

Beginner Guitars - we all have to start somewhere don't we

Most people take up an instrument when they're kids right? And I can safety assume there aren't any pesky 8 year olds pulling at their parent's coat sleeves to get them an electric guitar. So right now I'm aiming at those parents I just mentioned and for those of you looking to take up guitar but aren't too sure where to start. I'm speaking from experience here. I started guitar when I was 10 and I'm now 16. So I've passed through the beginner phase. Anywho, here we go.

First things first DO NOT BUY ANYTHING TOO EXPENSIVE. Regardless of how much money you have there is absolutely no need. For a simple first guitar you want to be looking at something at around £150-250 max. The crucial thing isn't so cheap that it's going to give up on you as soon as you've played it for a week but not so expensive that you're constantly worried you're going to drop it.

Often you will be looking at brands who don't make expensive guitars (I.E. don't expect to find a £150 Gibson just because you've heard of Gibson) so Encore, Gear4Music - big company in the UK for those of you across the pond. However, there are two specifically i'd be directing my eyes towards...

Squire and Epiphone. These are side branches of Fender and Gibson respectively but they don't have the big price tags attached.

 Lets start with Squire. I own a cheap starter Squire strat and I rather love it. I have no idea exactly how much my parents paid for it but no more than £150. It came equipped with a small practice amp, lead, strap and a few pics - enough to make you feel like a rockstar when you're 10. Despite all but the guitar breaking within a few months it was a great bit of kit to start on. ALWAYS bear in mind that this is only a starter guitar, you can upgrade if you get a bit better.

Epiphone are like I said a branch of Gibson. In my opinion they are slightly (very slightly) more up market than Squire but not significantly. You're likely to pay a little more but for a higher quality. In fact some Epiphones have been said to have equal build quality to Gibsons. You also have the added bonus of a far wider range of guitar shapes (this is pretty important when you're starting out, you wanna look the part right?) - Les Paul, SG, ES style etc.

There are plenty to out there to get started on. However remember what i've said - don't buy expensive - there really is no point. Personally I think starter packages aren't a bad idea but I suppose you might have inherited an amp from somewhere. Oh and one more quick pointer. If you're thinking you're an acoustic player more than an electric definately don't buy really cheap (I.E £50). The bridges have a tendency to be awful and the thing just simply won't stay in tune.

All that considered, get ready for some pain in those finger tips, its a tough ride for the first few months. Happy playing newbies!

Peace, Linus

Revolution...about time?

Not so long ago I wrote a blog (found here) on 'Techy Guitars' and prominently Gibson's Firebird X which I liked about as much as your average winter Cold. However, it did get me thinking. Gibson are trying something new with these very modern guitars and actually for all my criticism of them there is a reason. Its a revolution.

You see most guitarists would argue that there are 3 (maybe 4) big, BIG, guitars - the Strat, Tele,Les Paul and the possible fourth, SG. Now i've probably just annoyed a few people who will be saying "well what about Ibanez's and ESP's". The thing is though, they're all pretty much based on those big 4 and in my opinion that's a little worrying. Fender's Strat (1954) and Tele (1948) have been around for well over 50 years so it begs the question, why after this length of time, has no one produced another revolutionary guitar?

It would seem the obvious answer is that we really don't need one. Think about it, there's a reason why the percentage guitarists of play them, they're seen as the best guitars. They may not suit some but for most they're the answer. Its simplicity thats the beauty of them. They're is nothing to mess with your head (I'm diliberatley thinking of the Fender Jaguar here, which in my opinion is the greatest Fender but it's ridiculous controls somewhat let it down) or nothing too one sided. You see people playing Strats all over the place and the Les Paul is potentially the most used electric in rock music. These guitars are just SO iconic and that is the key. 

Could anyone then make another iconic guitar? It seems everything new now is just a variation of what we've already seen or just rather odd. Perhaps it is far too difficult a task to make one but I for one would love to see something that becomes timeless. Right now though you have to say that very little on the current market and that's been released in recent years is going to be timeless.

So, I, a humble guitarist, challenge the world's biggest guitar manufactures to build another timeless guitar. No? I suppose you're all busy making guitars we don't want to buy full of the latest gadgets...shame.

Peace, Linus

'Baby' Heads

We all know things are pretty tight money wise right now. Most of us can't go out and spend on top quality high end gear and then go to bed knowing your bank balance is still comfortable. No sadly it seems that once again that most big new guitar gear (by this I mean amps, guitars - ya know the really expensive stuff...) is just too much for us commoners to afford. In saying that though, there's a new craze coming in during these rather tough economic times, however you might not see them coming. Check it out.

You see a big 75w+ valve head is going to set you back a fair bit. A Marshall JCM 900 will cost you the best part of £800. Worth it? Well, those who write a cheque out for that much can be the judges on that. For me though there's a far far better alternative. Sometimes size and power really isn't everything. 

Amp manufactures are taking a step towards 'baby' heads and it would seem for many this is a step in the right direction. The key thing about an amp is tone - we all know that - and brands like Marshall and Orange are focusing on that as a priority for these amps. As a result what we end up with is something that sounds beautiful and is in comparison to the higher watt amps, pretty cheap.

So what we're looking at is something that is perfect for bedroom work. The beauty of them is that they're not  too loud but also, they can be cranked but if you so desire it can really split your ear drums as well. Jim uses an Orange Tiny Terror and it gets a great range of volume.

There is a slight problem with it though and its one found in most of the 'baby' heads. The tiny terror (same with the dark terror) needs a better EQ range. You have one tone knob and as a result you can't dial in a really exact tone. But I suppose its all preference? If you can afford something a little more pricey I'd highly recommend this - the Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister.

As you can see (and my days it looks so fly this head) its pretty small. However the crucuial thing about this is has a banded EQ and as a bonus an FX loop which is something certainly the Tiny Terrors really lack. You can switch it between 18, 5, 1 and 0 watts so if you want something nice and quiet for the bedroom and something that can kick out at a gig this is perfect. Its around about £100 more expensive than the Tiny Terrors (which im using as a comparison) but its not the only pocket amp out there so have a look around.

I've gotta say these amps are really handy bits of kit. Its a common mistake that you need a huge 100w amphead and a 2 4x12's to be a 'guitarist' who has a killer rig. Let me tell you something, these baby heads can kill. Oh yes.

We should say on a side note APOLOGIES for a real lack of action with Jim Studios at the moment but things are kicking back into gear as we speak. Thanks for reading as ever!
Peace, Linus

*Update* 16/08/11

Hey all :)

Exciting times indeed at Jim Studios, I just added a new blog post about, ooo, 30 seconds ago? And now here comes a little update. We've added to our collection on the Youtube Channel and another of our videos is on the EHX blog. All of you wanting chorus or some pi then head over there!

In other news, check out James Kuhnel, he's got some really cool stuff up on Myspace. Follow him on twitter as well - really great guitarist. Jim also tells me they'll some new videos appearing in the next day or so. Other than that that's all from me.

Peace, Linus

Techy Guitars

We live in a world now that is totally dominated by technology. Music itself is now full of tech, not just in the recording process and listening to music but in the playing. Instruments have been invented these days that rely completely on technology and now, its leaking into the world of guitars.

Most of you will remember a few years ago, back in 2007, when Gibson released their 'Robot Guitar'. Originally based on a Les Paul, they then went on to release it as an Explorer and as an SG. It had features such as automatic tuning and a crazy control knob that could do things only Steven Hawking could understand. They followed all this up with the Dark Fire guitar and the Dusk Tiger - I feel Gibson need to work on the names. But that's besides the point because this has been taken to a whole new level with the Firebird x (anddddd cue the outrageous vomiting)

Now I'm a fan of technological advances, things that make you step back and go, oh wow. But this? This is just wrong. What this does is it takes the soul away from a guitar. Filling a guitar with technology is like trying to fill Blenheim Palace with 48 inch TVs in every room and a KFC drive-thru by the kitchen window - ridiculous. The thing is just too mind-boggling and what you'll find if you try one is that it detracts from the playing. All the knobs and switches are simply too much and you can't focus on what you're playing.

The appeal in this guitar could be enormous and on the face of it (to someone who doesn't know an awful lot  about guitars) its a good buy. Lots of different tones, lots of different fx, lots of -and I quote- 'Revolutionary Features'. The pedals that come with this are linked to the guitar via bluetooth. It has 3 Piezo mini humbuckers that apparently can create 2,000 different pickup combinations using the guitar effects processing unit built into the back of the guitar.It even has a case that's been especially designed so it can be dropped from a six-story building. And there's a fantastic reason as to why that case has had to be developed because when you get home from your gig, you're going to head straight for the roof and hurl it as far as you can.

I'm not just having a pop at Gibson here. They are arguably the joint top greatest guitar makers in the world. And that my friends is a good note to leave you on. If they are so great, what possessed them to do this?

Peace, Linus

*Update* 10/08/11

Hey all. Just a quick update and a proper blog post will appear sometime in the next few days. If you want to discuss anything or know anything or want more info on anything please let us know and we'll try and do a blog post on it. Comment on the youtube videos, twitter or on this blog!

The free pick giveaway is still going all you have to do is hit the subscribe button on our youtube channel. That'll also give you all the updates from youtube via email. There's a couple of new videos up on the channel. They can all be found here as well.

New videos will be filmed fairly soon hopefully and some other cool new stuff. In the mean time, keep an eye on here for my 'words of wisdom' (pfft) and try not to riot too much ;)

Peace, Linus