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1 - *** WIN PRIZES ***
2 - Fixing Scratchy Volume & Tone Controls, by Peter Schmidt
3 - LOW VOLUME TIP
4 - GAIN VERSUS VOLUME - KENNY EXPLAINS THE DIFF
5 - DOWN UNDER
6 - HELPING SONGWRITERS
7 - DAVID WILCOX, Folk Guitarist
8 - CHET ATKINS & RICHARD ALCOY
9 - JOHNNY ASIA
10 - THE MYSTERY RIG by Bri
11 - PLAY IT AGAIN SAM
12 - GERMAN TABLATURE
13 - WHAT's NEW
14 - JOKES
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1 - *** WIN PRIZES ***
OK, here's you chance to help fellow musicians AND help yourself to a
valuable prize! All you have to do is either:
A – tell me about a great guitar site
that I don’t already have a link to
OR
B - write something for this Guitar Newsletter
sent to GuitarMaster@hitsquad.com
All entries are eligible for entry to the newsletter at a future date, but
the prizes go to the most original / entertaining / interesting / useful
article. It can be a funny guitar-related experience, a tip, joke, tab,
review - anything fellow guitarists would enjoy reading!
What do you win? You can check out some of the prizes
...but more prizes are being organised as you read this!
(as yet unconfirmed) future prizes are:
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2 - Fixing Scratchy Volume & Tone Controls, by Peter Schmidt
Do you have noisy volume/tone controls?? Is it really annoying every
time you turn the volume up or down, and a scratch comes through your
amp? Are you afraid to even turn the control now? Or maybe a foot
pedal that has a scratchy control (wah pedal for example)? Here's a
simple solution to your woes.
Go to your local electronics (Dick Smith / Tandy) store or hi-fi store
and ask for an electrical contact cleaner (they should know what you
want if you say you're cleaning noisy variable resistors (or
potentiometers)). It comes in a tin at around $7 (AUST), and you'll
never need to buy another can in your lifetime (it lasts for ages).
The cleaner doesn't conduct electricity, and will get rid of dust and
dirt etc. It will leave you're pots without that cracking sound when
you turn them, and even works with your switches.
Electrical contact cleaner is known as an electric contact lubricant.
That is, it cleans and also lubricates to help stop wear of the
control. Because dirt and dust (and corrosion build up) get into the
control, the wiper doesn't contact the resistive material all that
well. By cleaning it with contact cleaner, it helps the wiper to make
better contact. Just spray some cleaner into the pot cavity (where the
wiper is), and move the control back and forth, and then clean again
to remove any residue. It may not eliminate the scratchy sound
entirely, but there will be a vast improvement.
If the control still sounds scratchy, the control might need
replacing. In that case you have two choices, replacement or fix it.
You can also use this idea to not only guitars, but amplifiers and
effects as well.
To find out more on guitar maintenance and repair, visit Ozrock Online
Guitar Centre
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3 - LOW VOLUME TIP
"I picked this up after doin' some time repairing amps. If you have to
practice or play at low volume levels and just don't get the same great
cranked up sound... try using your distortion pedal - as you probably would
normally, but lower the pre-amp and tone controls on your amp to 0 or 1,
and crank the master up to 11. I have found that most amp guitar
combinations respond with a really powerful big sound, kinda like
a Santana/Boogie sustain. Have fun!"
Yours truly, Joey da' cap
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4 - GAIN VERSUS VOLUME - KENNY EXPLAINS THE DIFF
The difference between gain and volume can be confusing, because raising
the volume OR raising the gain will make things
LOUDER (until the point of saturation described below).
Your guitar generates a signal when the strings are struck. This signal can
go straight to your amp, or it can go through one or more
pedals, and then into your amp. To keep things simple, let's assume you are
plugged directly into an amplifier.
The loudness of your guitar signal is governed by the volume setting of
your guitar. When the signal enters the amplifier, you can
make this signal louder by turning up the volume control on your amp. At
this point, you have a clean amplified signal exiting the
amp at whatever volume level your guitar and amp are set.
Gain comes into play when you boost or augment the incoming signal to a
level that the amp finds 'unacceptable'. Increasing the
gain is accomplished by turning up the gain control on your amp. If your
amp does not have a gain control, you can boost the gain
through any of numerous effects pedals which offer this feature. On an amp,
the gain control is located before the volume control so
that the guitar signal passes through the gain circuitry before being
amplified.
Boosting gain causes a distortion of the guitar signal. The depth of the
distortion of the signal depends on the amount of gain being
provided. The distortion can range from a warm overdriven sound, to a
saturated one. At the point of saturation, the gain continues to
increase without a corresponding increase in volume.
From Snarling Dogs Newsletter
Snarling Dogs manufacture "the coolest line of wahs and effects pedals in
the music industry. Wahs weigh 6 LBS each, and have the most incredible
tone you'll ever hear, lit LED Snarling Dogs eyes, and glow-in-the-dark
markings. The footpads are foot-shaped, and colors are in-your-face."
"We are also the source for all Snarling Dogs, Unplugged, Tube-Toned Blues,
and Kit Shicker guitar and bass strings. Our newest addition to our string
line is the Charlie Stringer's Billy Sheehan Snarling Dogs bass sets - the
first bass sets ever to be packaged in cans!"
Check out their site: SnarlingDogs.com
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5 - DOWN UNDER
Though I know many of you are in the States, I live in Melbourne myself, so
I have to include some Ozzie stuff!
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6 - HELPING SONGWRITERS
Songsalive! is a nonprofit organization, based in Australia, but now
with an office in Los Angeles. It supports and promotes songwriters. We
run FREE songwriting workshops every second week in LA ( donation only)
and FREE to members in Sydney. How can you get better than that! It's
all about feedback, networking and meeting professionals. The workshops
are designed around critiquing songs in an intimate and informal situation.
It's not a school, it's a professional environment.
Songsalive! also produces CD Samplers that go to all the music
conventions around the world, provide showcase opportunities, offer
studio support, and distribute regular newsletters, called Songnotes!,
which gives you all the info you need on what's happening in the
songwriting business internationally. Check out their web site, email songsalive@hotmail.com or call
Sydney 02-9294 2415 or L.A 310-238-0359
Thanks, Gilli Aliotti, President
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7 - DAVID WILCOX, Folk Guitarist
Thanks to Terr Chamberlain for this article:
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8 - CHET ATKINS & RICHARD ALCOY
Chet Atkins Fans Club - Dedicated to the continuation of fingerstyle
guitar. Chet Atkins Fans Club is more than just another Chet site... Along
with the usual message board, links page, and pretty pictures, we are the
place to be on Saturday night for the best live fingerpicking chat on the
net! We also update our page regularly with the latest news from the world
of fingerstyle guitar...
Check out the latest on Chet: sites, sounds, tabs, bio, CDs
Also, thanks to Richard Alcoy for these URLs:
Association of Fingerstyle Guitarists and
Asian Fingerstyle Guitar Association
Richard Alcoy is completing a book on the music of Chet Atkins, and presently
recording a jazz CD project with the Dave Suverkrup Quartet. Richard is
available for concerts, recitals, and club dates as a solo guitarist and as
a member of the Dave Suverkrup Jazz Quartet, Bill Gallowy Trio, Marco Piali
and the Steve Reynolds Duo.
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9 - JOHNNY ASIA
My name is Johnny Asia. I'm the next big thing in the guitar world.
(I'm serious!!) For Real Audio samples of my "Funk from Pluto" (no overdubs):
"Johnny's music is universal in the truest sense of the term. It embraces
the musics of this world and anticipates those yet to be discovered in the
future. In a recent concert at Pauline Oliveros Foundation's Gallery at
Deep Listening Space, Johnny's riveting performance transported the
audience across time to places MTV can only dream about." - Joe Mc Phee
Joe McPhee is
President of the Board of Directors of The Pauline Oliveros Foundation
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10 - THE MYSTERY RIG by Bri
A couple of years ago, I got my first guitar, used, from a guy who had it
for a year and didn't play it as much as he thought he would, so I bought
it. A year later I bought a decent amp. As I found out more about guitars,
I was more interested in the specs of my guitar, especially how much it
retails for so I could get an idea of what kind of a deal I got on it. Well
the more and more I looked, the harder and harder it was to find anything
that looked like mine. Here's what I know about my guitar:
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11 - PLAY IT AGAIN SAM
Play It Again Sam"Bringing Down the Cost of Making Music!" Guitars, banjos, mandolins,
dulcimers, ukuleles, hand percussion, drums, accessories, music books and
videos. Taylor, Washburn, Epiphone, Tacoma, Tascam, Akai, DOD, Digitech,
Pearl, Gibraltor, Deering, Weber and lots more! Great musical stuff at
great prices! 1-802-229-0295 66 Main St. Montpelier, VT 05602
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12 - GERMAN TABLATURE
Guitar OnlineHere you'll find a small collection of zipped files of sheet music graphic
files, midi and lyrics, in English and German, for Beatles, Dylan etc.
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13 - WHAT's NEW
Remember to checkout what's new on the "1000 Great Guitar Sites" each day
Or look at the October entries in the Guitar Database
also, why not see who is #1 in the Guitar Top 100 site?
or see latest guitar sites at whatsnew.com
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14 - JOKES
Your "reward" for reading through to the end...
How does a guitar player change a light bulb?
He lies on the bed so that the room is spinning around it.
How does a guitar player show up for practice?
Drunk and late......... as usual
Thanks to Imuddrumer@aol.com for these, has anyone else got any to share? Just them to me: GuitarMaster@hitsquad.com
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