Dial in some extra quack? Via James Wilsey’s Facebook page.
Category Archives: Gear
The Ten Most Expensive Guitars Ever Sold
The Telegraph recently put together this list of the ten most expensive guitars ever sold. Pretty cool, but they are definitely missing Bob Dylan’s guitar, which sold for $965,000 back in December. But check it out and see how many you recognize. The Hendrix guitar shown below was used at Woodstock and sold to Paul Allen for $2 million back in 1998. I don’t recall seeing it at the EMP. Maybe they keep it hidden away?
D’Addario EXL110 Nickel Wound, Regular Light, 10-46
These are the strings I’m using now. Both my Blacktop Tele and my Robert Cray Strat came with 9s but those just feel too light for me, so I went with 10s. I picked these cause people seem to like them and the three pack was pretty cheap, too–$12 on Amazon. I also like the colored ends (gimmick, I know, but kind of cool and easy to identify when you are stringing your guitar). Apparently the D’Addario EXL110 Nickel Wound, Regular Light, 10-46s are D’Addario’s best selling strings. Next I want to try the EXL140 Nickel Wound, Light Top/Heavy Bottom, 10-52s, which should have a slightly beefier tone.
What strings do you use?
My Favorite Picks: Tortex Pitch Black Jazz III in 1.14MM
I used to use those big standard Fender picks–the 351–but then my last guitar teacher turned me onto these smaller Tortex Pitch Black Jazz III in 1.14MM and I love ’em. I wish I could find them in another color than black, though, cause when I drop them on the rug they are kinda hard to spot sometimes.
What do you guys like?
Falls Rock Shop Blue Burst Custom Strat
Fender makes some awesome affordable instruments, but if you want to go custom with them, the things can get expensive quickly! Luckily, there are a ton of options out there, and many may be more affordable than you think. Like this custom Strat from the guys at Fall Rock Shop. Prices for their custom guitars start around $500. This Blue Burst Strat was about $900, but has a top of the line Wilkenson tremolo bridge, $150 worth of pickups and a flame maple neck. Check out the specs and another pic after the jump!
60s Fender Guitar Colors and the 50s Car Colors That Inspired Them
Cool little graphic of 50s cars and 60s Strats.
Best Partscaster Ever?
Saw this over at Guitar Fail and had to post. Awesome!
Top Ten Reasons I Play Guitar
This week Adam from Falls Rock Shop in Ohio e-mailed to say some nice things about Guitar Idiot and asked me to write a guest blog for their site and talk about my “guitar learning journey.” You may have clicked the About link on this site and read why I started Guitar Idiot. But while I was writing the blog for Adam, I thought: why do I play guitar? What makes me keep at it? Well, here are my top ten reasons.
But first, one huge caveat: I’m well aware that one of the best things about playing guitar is playing with others. I loved my very short stint playing in a band when I was younger. But because of my tinnitus I need to keep the volume way down. So I pretty much play alone. Anyway, this is my top ten as of today. I may update the list later.
Read my full list after the jump!
James Hetfield at Guitar Center
James has a new signature ESP guitar and he visited the San Francisco Guitar Center to talk about it and also about what playing guitar has meant to him all these years.
First Pics of My Danny Hines Hardtail Stratocaster Body
Danny Hines just sent me these pics of my new custom two-color sunburst hardtail Strat body! He does the nitro finish himself and has been slowed down a bit by the crazy cold winter we are having this year, but I should have it soon. He said he still has a bit of touch up before applying the final clears. Can’t wait and will keep you posted!
