Here are two vintage toy discussion sites I recently started:

Vintage Cowboy Toys - A site that discusses antique and vintage western and cowboy toys from the 1950's and 1960's when westerns were common TV fare and kids could play Cowboys and Indians without the poltically correct reprecussions like they would today.

Vintage Toy Soldiers - A site that talks about old timey toy soliders, metal or plastic, from the golden era of these playsets, the 1950's and 1960's. Special attention is paid to Marx Playsets.

Give them a visit and enjoy. 

Posted by j_frank_carr at 1:50 PM EDT

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Here's a brand new site with information on the Fender Duosonic that you might want to check out. While it is new, the information on it is growing. The most interesting article so far is on Pre-CBS Fender Duosonics. Since I own a reissue model it is of particular interest to me.

The layout of this Duosonic site is interesting with a running feed of related eBay auctions along with the information. That way if you're in the market for a Duosonic you can check eBay for what you want without having to go and search yourself.

If you're interested in the Fender Duosonic, check out this site. 

Posted by j_frank_carr at 2:46 PM EDT

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I've been working on some other projects and haven't  had time to keep this blog updated. Also, once again, I find the overall clunky nature of the Tripod blog and hosting system annoying so I'm going to move to a new host at some point where I can use tools like WordPress and Joomla! to build what I want.

For now, check out my new Guitars On TV blog where I find the best guitar videos on YouTube and elsewhere and post them for your enjoyment.

Posted by j_frank_carr at 12:29 AM EDT

Updated: Friday, 29 June 2007 12:31 AM EDT

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I ran across an interesting music site this evening, Musicovery.com. It's an Internet radio station that picks music for you to listen to based on your mood and other criteria.

Here's what their interface looks like. Make sure you check off the genre's you would prefer to hear or else you might get Celine Dion queued up.

They also have links to iTunes, Amazon, and eBay so that you can buy the song you're hearing while you're in the right mood for it. Clever marketing for quite a clever idea.

Check 'em out and let me know what you think. 

Posted by j_frank_carr at 11:34 PM EDT

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Open C tuning is next in my alternative tuning series.

Going from standard tuning, lower the sixth string two whole steps, the fifth and fourth strings one step and raise the second string a half step.

This is a very versatile tuning that you can use to play soft fingerstyle passages or killer crunch power chords. The 'secret' of this tuning is the doubled low root and 5th combo that make it easy to play bass rhythm either by itself or to accompany a melody line on the high strings.

The scale tones created by this tuning are

Like always, my demo starts with the single notes followed by an open string strum. I start with a fingerstyle passage where I play a melody line with my fingers against a thumb based open string rhythm. I stuck with working between the 5th, 7th, and 9th frets on the second and third strings. It was rather easy to play and sounded good although I am not a good fingerstylist. For the second part, I kicked in the distortion and went power chording. The low tuned root/5th combo grinds out some brutal palm muted chords. To play it, all I had to do was fret the 6th and 5th strings on the open strings, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th frets or the 4th and 5th strings on the same frets. Give both methods a try, they're a lot of fun.

Click Here To Download Open C Demo MP3

Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about the Open C Tuning and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

Posted by j_frank_carr at 10:01 PM EDT

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Antarctica Cements Act for Gore’s Live Earth

In an effort to fulfill his promise of a concert on every continent for his “Live Earth” event on July 7 to 8, Al Gore approached the British Antarctic Survey in February to explore the possibility of flying a band in to its

No, he was told, July is mid-winter in Antarctica, and no planes or boats can get in or out.

But all was not lost. BAS officials told Gore that a band was already in place on the South Pole. BAS press representative Linda Capper told blogger Tim Slagle, “We have a house band — five of our science team. They are very good indie rock-folk fusion. The remaining 17 will be the audience on location.”

Tehran Times: Lily Afshar’s guitar sojourn in Iran

At the foot of Tehran’s northern mounts in Velenjak, Lily Afshar’s family still lives in a flat where they lend a room to the head of guitar studies at the University of Memphis in Tennessee for her master classes for Tehran’s guitar aficionados.

It is difficult to imagine that Afshar, who once was a student of Andrés Segovia, is happy about having to hold courses in such a space. However, music teachers prefer this experience to dealing with the official restrictions on holding music courses.

Dallas Observer: Guitar Heroine

"Guitar has always been associated as a male right of passage," says Larkin, "but women like Rory Block, Memphis Minnie and Elizabeth Cotton broke the glass guitar ceiling years ago."

All three of those guitarists, plus a dozen more, are featured on La Guitara, making it the most representative sampling of female players. A few of the shows on the current tour will have Larkin trading licks with Erin McKeown and Muriel Anderson, both of whom have tracks on La Guitara.

MSNBC: Amid the chaos of war, gifts of music

The e-mail from Iraq started this way:

"So, a friend in my battalion received a Fender Stratocaster from you guys. It was amazing! . . . It's been about 6 months since I have played and it was so awesome playing the guitar my friend got. He told me about you guys, so I thought I would see if maybe I can get my own guitar."

And that is how Sgt. Jason Low received an acoustic guitar from Steve Baker, a Vietnam veteran of modest means and powerful purpose. Baker and his wife, Barb, run Fergus Music, a shop here in a rural patch of Minnesota not far from the North Dakota line. Together, they have shipped more than 300 guitars, mandolins, harmonicas, drums and wind instruments to Iraq to ease the strain of the soldiering life.

Posted by j_frank_carr at 8:22 PM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, 13 June 2007 8:33 PM EDT

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Modern Guitars Magazine: Coronation Countdown: Guitar Center's King of the Blues Competition 

On Saturday, June 16, 2007, four guitarists take the stage at the Music Box in Los Angeles where each hopes to prove that out of the more than 4,200 original hopefuls and four remaining finalists, he deserves to be crowned 2007's King of the Blues. With grand prizes valued at over $50,000 and an opportunity to perform at this summer's Eric Clapton Crossroads Concert at stake, the 2007 King of the Blues title is about more than simply bragging rights.

New York Daily News: Stone Age points to rock guitar future

Just when you thought no one could kick new life into rock's hoariest instrument - the electric guitar - along comes Queens of the Stone Age. On the so-called stoner rock band's revelatory new CD, "Era Vulgaris," they treat the six strings with a degree of distortion they should patent. The effect turns their riffs into a kind of death rattle, lending them a texture no one else has hit upon.

Boston Globe: Don't fret: Teaching guitar lights your way

I have finally found a guitar I can play. (It's never been my lack of musical talent, you see. It's always been the instruments.)

The Fretlight (fretlight.com), a solid teaching guitar with lights on its neck, comes with PC software that guides you through some introductory lessons and songs. The guitar has lights on its neck that show you exactly where to place your fingers to play particular chords, scales, and riffs.

Vibe: Prince, "Guitar"

New single from "Planet Earth," Prince's return to Columbia. Prince has returned to Columbia Records for Planet Earth, out July 24, and will reunite with Wendy and Lisa for the record.

Posted by j_frank_carr at 9:24 PM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, 13 June 2007 8:24 PM EDT

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'Sawmill' or G Modal tuning is the next in my alternative tuning series.

Going from standard tuning, lower the first, fifth, and sixth strings one step and raise the second string a half step.

This tuning is essentially taking a common banjo alternative tuning and applying it to guitar. There is even a playing technique built around this tuning called clawhammer and you'll find songs like the traditional Shady Grove played this way. Since this is a modal tuning, there is no 3rd in the open chord so both major and minor can be implied, making it a flexible choice if you want that kind of ambiguity in a song. It can also work for simplified fingerpicking on songs that can take advantage of the position of this tuning's notes. It also might be interesting for various rock tunes as well where the 'in between' nature of the tuning can produce the right atmosphere.

The scale tones created by this tuning are

Like before, my demo starts with the single notes followed by an open string strum. Since I can't play clawhammer I went with something simple to demo the tuning, an open chord strum while alternatively fretting the second string on the 5th, 7th, 3rd, and 8th frets. Getting that open chord sound could make a nice driving rhythm to back a lead line. For the second part of the demo, I barred at the 3rd and 8th frets and alternated between the plain one fret barre and playing the 6th string 2 and 3 frets above the barre.

Click Here To Download Sawmill (G Modal) Demo MP3

Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about the Sawmill (G Modal) Tuning and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

Posted by j_frank_carr at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 12 June 2007 1:13 AM EDT

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This playlist is another one chocked full of some of my favorite alternative, traditional, and outlaw country tunes. As the name of the playlist indicates all of these acts are based in Texas. I kick things off and wind things off with Waylon. In between, you'll find the old, Bob Wills, the new, Owen Temple, the traditional, Butch Hancock, and the alternative, Michelle Shocked. Great songwriters, like Townes Van Zandt and Kris Kristofferson, are represented. All of these songs are in regular circulation on my Sansa and I hope you give them a try and enjoy them as well.

1. Lukenbach, Texas (Back To The Basics Of Love) - Waylon Jennings
2. Are You Listenin' Lucky? - Joe Ely
3. Nobody's Girl - Reckless Kelly
4. That's Right (You're Not From Texas) - Lyle Lovett
5. Mustang Burn - Jack Ingram
6. The Road Goes On Forever - Robert Earl Keen
7. Lost Highway - Owen Temple
8. If I Needed You - Townes Van Zandt
9. Leavin' Texas - Jerry Jeff Walker
10. Poncho And Lefty - Willie Nelson
11. Georgia On A Fast Train - Billy Joe Shaver
12. Guitar Town - Steve Earle
13. Faded Love - Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
14. Help Me Make It Through The Night - Kris Kristofferson
15. The Ride - David Allan Coe
16. Murder (Or A Heart Attack) - Old 97's
17. Texas Cookin' - Guy Clark
18. Quality Of Mercy - Michelle Shocked
19. Walking On The Moon - Hugh Moffatt
20. Welcome To The Real World - Butch Hancock
21. Black Snake Moan - Jimmie Dale Gilmore
22. (Hey Baby) Que Paso - Texas Tornados
23. Beautiful Texas Sunshine - Doug Sahm
24. Dallas - Flatlanders
25. T For Texas - Waylon Jennings

Posted by j_frank_carr at 5:10 PM EDT

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As you may know, there are a lot of fake Gibson's around. You can see them pop up all the time on eBay and other online for sale sites and you may even run across them in local used guitar stores and pawn shops. So, what can you do to avoid being taken?

To help educate the guitar buying public, Gibson has put out a guide to help you identify the counterfeits from the real thing. Of course, they suggest that you only buy a new Gibson from an authorized Gibson dealer. But, armed with a little knowledge they provide here in pictures you should be able to avoid being ripped off if you can examine the guitar in person. However, eBay is still dicey and other online venues where even fewer buyer protections exist are even riskier, so be careful with your hard earned gear money.

I do like having the option of lower end clones like Agiles and others. Cheap guitars can be fun platforms for modifications and not everyone can plunk down $1000 or more for the real thing. However, these aren't out-and-out copies pretending to be Gibsons where people can use them to rip off the unsuspecting. Just know what you're buying so you'll be happy with your choice.

Posted by j_frank_carr at 12:27 PM EDT

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