Recording Finished!

Fri, 08/14/2015 - 10:44pm
Written by PaulGilbert
Topics: guitar, paul gilbert

All the recording sessions for my new solo album were finished today. We completed 14 songs (13 of mine, plus one cover) in just 8 days of recording. This is what happens when you record "live" with a great band. Everything happens quickly! A huge thanks to (from left to right) Tony Spinner, Freddie Nelson, Thomas Lang, and Kevin Chown, for fantastic playing and singing. And of course Kevin Shirley did an amazing job producing. Mixing begins next week at Kevin's studio. I'll be taking the weekend off to spend time with my family, and then I'll be back to make Video Exchanges on Monday. My experience teaching here at ArtistWorks has improved my playing over the last three years, so I'd like to thank everyone at ArtistWorks, and all of YOU, for helping to keep me excited about guitar and about how to fit guitar into songs that... ROCK!

Thank you,

Paul

Back in the Studio This Week

Sun, 08/09/2015 - 10:34pm
Written by PaulGilbert
Topics: guitar, paul gilbert

I've got a few more days of rehearsal before heading back in the studio with legendary producer, Kevin Shirley, to finish my newest solo album. I'm having a great time playing my Ibanez custom-shop white Fireman with DiMarzio P90-style pickups. I also brought my old violin-shaped Ibanez PGM700 out of storage. I've got it tuned to an open G tuning that I use for one song. The band is sounding fantastic, with lots of three-part vocal and guitar harmonies thanks to Freddie Nelson and Tony Spinner. And my rhythm section of Kevin Chown (bass) and Thomas Lang (drums) is huge, heavy, and groovy. I can wait to get it all recorded and mixed... and get on the road again (next year.)

Thank you,

Paul

Big Stretches

Mon, 07/27/2015 - 10:16pm
Written by PaulGilbert
Topics: guitar, paul gilbert

There aren't many songs that require a stretch from the 12th to the 23rd fret. But just in case I need to make that happen, I've got an Ibanez MIKRO guitar with a short scale neck. It's fun to instantly have a longer reach across the frets. When I was nine years old (with much smaller hands that I have now), my guitar was an inexpensive Stella acoustic guitar... with a short scale neck. Of course now that I've grown up, I mostly play guitars with a standard 24 3/4" scale length. But if you ever find yourself struggling with a horizontal stretch, remember... you can always try a shorter neck.

15 Great Rock Guitar Solos - Student Blog

Mon, 07/27/2015 - 2:45pm
Written by tomatkins
Topics: guitar, paul gilbert, rock

great rock guitar solos

Obviously, there are more than 15 great guitar solos in rock music history. 

So the only way I can do this with any semblance of fairness is to base my picks not only listening to the technical qualities of the guitar solo, but factor in the historical importance of the performer who played the guitar solo. As in, did they influence more people to want to play guitar?

1.  “Rock around the clock” : Bill Haley and His Comets, Rock Around The Clock (1954)

"Rock around the Clock" was one of the first pure shred guitar solos. There is a fascinating backstory about this song and the tragically short life of the brilliant guitarist, Danny Cederone, who put down a very technically precise and exciting guitar solo that complements this “birth of Rock and Roll” song. The tragedy is that Danny died just ten days after recording the solo, a guitar solo masterpiece that he was paid a whopping $21.