SX STL50 With Humbucker in The Neck Review

I bought my SX STL50 from rondomusic.com, I'm very pleased with the guitar and Rondo has great service!

This is the most value I've ever got in a guitar. I really can't believe how low the price is on these things. If you played one without knowing what it cost, you'd never guess they retail for around a hundred bucks. I don't remember exactly what mine cost, but with shipping and a gig bag it was less than $140.

Here are a couple shots of my SX STL50




This guitar cost so little, I don't even mind when the family kitten thinks it's a scratching post!


The neck on these guitars is a bit more substantial than any Fender or Squire I've played, which is fine by me since I have large hands. I definitely like more than less when it comes to guitar necks.

I was fully expecting to change the pickups, since the guitar had such a low price...but I love the way they sound. In fact, I'm sorry to say...this guitar sounds better plugged into my Vox AC15 than my late 80's Gibson Les Paul.

I find the machine heads to be a bit chincy, but the guitar does stay in tune pretty well. The nut needed a little bit of work too, since the high e string would pop out and jump into the slot for the b when I'd bend it sometimes. I may eventually have a bone nut put on it, since I love the guitar so much.

Basically, I was looking to add some twang to my guitar arsenal and I didn't want to spend too much to do it. I ended up with a great guitar at a great price.

Arlen Roth's Masters of the Telecaster

Dynasonics PDR-1 Review

I had been in the market for a portable digital recorder for quite some time. I watched prices come down over the years, but still wasn't seeing the price tag I was looking for on such a device.

I'm not a hardcore live music taper, or an audiophile of any sort, I'm just a musician looking for a portable recording tool to get more out of my practice sessions and performances. In other words, I'm not the type that geeks out over specs...I'm looking for usable features to get the job done!

The Dynasonics PDR-1 looked like the right tool, at the right price to me. That was it, I finally pulled the trigger and I'm glad I did. It's so easy to get a quick sketch of what I'm sounding like and play it back instantly. This thing is easy to use too. My "tween-aged" daughter uses it when she practices her piano and singing, and sometimes I can even talk her into recording my live performances with it.

The external lapel mics that come with this package don't look like the most expensive things going, but they sure sound good. Super quiet too, and that goes for the built in omni-directional condenser mics as well. So far this thing has far exceeded my expectations in terms of quality. The price really can't be beat either.

With the PDR-1 you have the option of recording either mp3 or wav files, and I've only done mp3's so far. I have the quality good enough that I'm using mp3's made at one of my acoustic duo's practices to create a demo cd to shop around to local bars and restaurants.

The only problem I've had with the unit so far, is a couple of my mp3 files have gotten corrupted somehow. I think I,(or perhaps my daughter)may have accidentally recorded over a track that was already recorded, which caused the corruption. This is not a big deal to me, I just have to remember if I've captured some audio worthy of saving to pull it off the SD card right away.

Battery life is decent on the PDR-1 too. I always conserve battery life by taking out my SD card and plugging it into a card reader when transferring my files to a PC.

Check it out at Amazon.com, the price is right...I doubt you'll be disappointed.
Dynasonics 2 track Digital Audio Recorder (PDR-1)

Duke Robillard Guitar Seminar

Guitarists in the North East U.S. have a great opportunity coming up in March 2009. Grammy nominated guitarist Duke Robillard will be giving a seminar at Blackstone River Theatre in Cumberland RI.

The 4 hour seminar is scheduled for Sunday March 8, 2009....and the price is more than reasonable! Part of the seminar will include a chance to jam with Duke and his band. I've already sent out payment to reserve my spot. Sign up now! Don't miss out!

For more details: riverfolk.org

Make sure you check back here in March, to hear all about it!

20 Ways to Become Your Own Guitar Hero

So you want to master guitar? Only you can help you do that, but my list of 20 ways to become your own guitar hero may help. This list is in no particular order, but numbers 1,4,and 20 are pretty important. A lot of these concepts can apply to anything you're trying to achieve a degree of proficiency with.

1.Practice:Goes without saying. Duh!

2.Don't just learn Licks:Analyze the licks you learn. Think about the context they are played in. Play smart instead of just regurgitating someone else's drivel.

3.Listen:Spend time listening to guitarists who have mastered the style you want to play. Learn how to be an active listener when listening to music.

4.Practice:This one is kind of self explanatory.

5.Be Patient:When learning new techniques and studying new concepts, give them time to soak into your mind. It may take quite a while before you assimilate them and have them start to be part of your natural repertoire.

6.Work on your ear:Having an ear for music helps you become a better guitarist. Work on your ear. No matter what you think, you can improve it. If it's already good...make it better!

7.Apply what you learn in real time:Don't just sit there alone and burn through arpeggios! Get with another player, or play along with a jam track...get a drum machine, whatever it takes.

8.Challenge yourself:No need to keep going over the same old stuff you've already mastered, find something new and challenging.

9.Feel good about your playing:Always keep a positive mental attitude. If you start feeling down on your playing, maybe it's time to take a break! An hour, a day, a week, whatever it takes. You have to appreciate where you're at right now, don't worry about where you want to be. You're closer to your target than you were yesterday...or last year!

10.Take private lessons:It's one sure way to improve. Not only do you get the instruction of someone who's further along than yourself, but there's the motivation factor of having another person involved in your progress. It tends to make you practice* a bit more. (*See numbers 1,4,&20)

11.Learn some Music Theory:It's not totally necessary to know any theory to become a guitar god, but it's not going to hurt you to learn some. It will certainly help you understand the chords and scales you use, and probably help your songwriting.

12.Buy instructional materials:Sure there is tons of free lessons online. Hell, there's even a few on this blog! But buying DVD's and books that come with a play-along CD can really help you make big gains. The information in them is usually presented in an organized and concise manner. Instructional materials can really give you a nice strong foundation to work from. Then supplement your foundation with all the online freebies!

13.Go to youtube:There are so many great guitarists sharing their knowledge out there for free on youtube. You'd be a fool not to take advantage of it! Check out my channel for starters. Don't forget to leave comments and subscribe if you like some one's videos. It's good to show some appreciation when someone shares their hard earned knowledge for free. You dropping a comment could be just the encouragement they need to keep making videos.

14.Film yourself playing guitar:This can give you a different perspective on your physical technique. You might be able to clean up some sloppy fingering or picking after watching yourself play. If you save your recordings, go back and watch them now and then, it's a good way to monitor your progress.

15.Think about guitar playing:Even when your aren't playing think about it. We all have other things to do besides sit around and play guitar. During your work day, if you have some time to let your mind wander to a little mental practice session in your mind. Visualize yourself running through some scales, and play through some chord progressions in your mind.

16.Don't blame your gear:It doesn't matter how good or bad your gear is, you're still only going to play as good as you play. Sure you might look a little cooler and sound slightly more toneful with better gear...but if Jeff Beck came to your house right now, and played through your rig...he'd sound like Jeff Beck! I can tell you this, if you played through his rig...you sure aren't going to sound like him!

17.Share what you know:No matter how little you know about playing guitar, there are plenty out there who know less. Sharing what you know with someone else helps you to learn it better. It's a known fact. Plus, this can give you a bit of an appreciation for where you're at as a player.

18.Don't waste time watching TV:It doesn't seem like this has anything to do with playing guitar, but if you are watching TV you aren't playing guitar. You're probably not thinking about playing guitar either. I doubt very much if the people who are on TV, watch TV. Think about it! They had to become proficient enough at something to get their ass on TV in the first place! I doubt they have time to waste watching the idiot box.

19.Attend live performances:This is a good way to see people play guitar for real, in real time. Certain local performances, and open mic nights might afford you the opportunity to talk to some of the players and ask them a question or two about what they do. Not to mention, this can be a good way of networking if you are an aspiring musician.

20.Practice:Not sure if I mentioned this one...but it's really important. Don't fry your mind, take a break after a 20 or 30 minute session to rest your brain. Drink water when you take a break, it's good for you and helps you think more clearly.

So there you have it. My two lousy cents on how to become your own "Guitar Hero", now you've got no excuses!

I know I said 20 things, but as a bonus here's 21.Buy something shiny and new:it doesn't hurt to buy something once in a while to help restore your enthusiasm. Check out these Guitar Practice Tools at Amazon.com

Spice up Your Sound With Minor 7 Chords

If you want to infuse your sound with a bit of jazz verve, or some Latin spice try using Minor 7 chords Your typical minor chords are built with the root,flat third, and fifth, but the minor 7 chord adds in the flat 7. This gives the chord a sound with a little bit of "funky" tension.

Minor 7 chords may not work for you in every instance where you would normally play a minor chord, so you'll have to experiment. You could always write a song or a jam based around minor 7 chords too!

The first chord shape I'll show has it's root on the 6th string of the guitar.


If you've been following my blog posts at all, you probably guessed that the next minor 7 chord shape will have the root on the 5th string.


Both of these chord shapes are movable too. Play around with them and see what they can do for your sound.

A good, Latin rock sounding chord progression that uses a minor 7 chord would be:
|A min7|D9|E7#9|

Play A dorian minor over this and you'll sound Like Santana!

If you aren't familiar with how to play the 9 and 7 sharp 9 chords mentioned above, you can check out my squidoo lens on How to Jazz up your Sound

I'll be posting a youtube video ASAP demonstrating how to play minor 7 chords, so stay tuned!

Learn more about Jazz Chords at Amazon.