The last time that I saw Joe Satriani was at the Marshall Amps 50th Anniversary Concert. We shared a backstage room, and I took the opportunity to ask him lots of questions about his guitar playing, influences, writing, and music in general.

The more that we talked, the more Joe opened up, and I could tell that he was getting ready to tell me some deep musical secrets... when the door opened, and the production manager said, "It's time for soundcheck!"

At G4, I'm planning to finally discover Joe's secrets, and to enjoy the guitar playing and rock wisdom of Andy Timmons and Mike Keneally.

For those of you who have enjoyed my Great Guitar Escape camps before, The G4 Experience will be similar, except that it's in California. And of course, Joe Satriani adds some mighty guitar-legend power to the event.

I just checked the website, and it looks like Ibanez is giving away a free RG guitar (signed by Joe, Andy, Mike, and myself), to everyone who signs up by January 31st.

More info: http://g4experience.com/

The history of the Wah-wah pedal is an interesting thing. Although we commonly associate wah-wah with people like Jimi Hendrix, it's actually been around since the 1920s when trumpet and trombone players were doing it manually by moving a mute in the instrument's bell. It wasn't until 1966 that a wah-wah pedal was made to stimulate the effect for guitarists.

Adding wah can really change the vibe of the song. Can you imagine hearing Jimi play the song above without using a wah-wah pedal? Sure, but it just  wouldn't sound as good would it? Many guitar players love to incorporate some wah action into their sound, but how many of them actually know how it works? Not that it's a requirement for using it, but it is pretty cool to know what's happening to the sound frequencies when you're using a wah-wah pedal. Check out this article from Slate.com which breaks it down on a scientific level. 

Then if you're in the need for some more wah inspiration, check out this discussion about the best wah-wah songs on GuitarZone.com! 

The great jazz guitarist Jim Hall has died at the age of 83. Click on the image above to read a tribute to "the gentle giant of jazz guitar" from JazzWise Magazine.