7 string guitars—what would you choose?

I love a good guitar. Truth be told, I love a bad guitar too. I just love guitars. This infatuation often has me looking into guitars I don’t have, yet want. Those lists—have-nots and wants—are massive. There are so many options to consider when looking at different guitars. Wood type, body shape, pickup type/configuration, fretboard material, bridge type and a whole lot more. What I’ve been looking into lately though—purely for my own entertainment—is the number of strings on an electric guitar. That is currently the one thing all of my guitars have in common. They’re all six string guitars (until a string breaks). So I’ve been looking into seven string guitars.

There are so many to choose from and many of them are damn affordable. Care to see which models I like the most? Yes? Well read on. Or just look at the picture at the end of this article. Either way … … 7 string guitars—what would you choose?

Guitar

Ibanez JBM100 … it’s titanic!

Ibanez make some damn sexy guitars. Mine for example is sexy. The new JBM100 however is sexy at a ridiculous level. I wonder if the guitar equivalent of sexy personified is sexy objectified? If so, the JBM100 is exactly that. If I don’t obtain another Ibanez one day I’ll be pretty upset with myself. But I digress. … Ibanez JBM100 … it’s titanic!

Guitar

52 Amplifier Heads, week 39—Swart ST-Stereo Head

I’ll be honest. This week’s amplifier head is outside my budget. But damn, the Swart ST-Stereo head is impressive. It not only has two speaker outputs, it has stereo outputs allowing you to create some seriously impressive tones and effects. How could I not include it in this series? Well I suppose not writing about it would achieve that, but I like to break the rules (when the rules are my own to start with).

Another thing I like about this amplifier head is the official line on the website which goes something like this—This is literally two separate 5w Class A Single Ended amplifiers in one chassis with the ability to drive two cabinets in stereo. Actually it goes exactly like that. Why do I love that so much? That is literally the correct use of the word literally. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 39—Swart ST-Stereo Head

Guitar

My Schecter Omen 6 story

I love my Schecter Omen 6. There are many reasons for that. The most important reason is that this is the guitar my wife convinced me to buy (in a way that I’ll explain soon). Up until I purchased this guitar I had always researched my next guitar online in great detail. Not this time though. This time I knew I wanted another guitar, I just didn’t know what it was that I wanted. So I went to a local guitar store with the intention of researching what else was out there. That day I not only decided, I purchased. … My Schecter Omen 6 story

Guitar

52 Amplifier Heads, week 38—Revolution Amplification Bully XX

In this weekly article series for what will become my first ever all-tube amplifier head, some amplifiers are easier to research than others. Some however, like today’s Bully XX by Revolution Amplification are damn near impossible to find information on. Having said that, this amplifier appeals to me. It’s priced right, it’s a good wattage for a first amplifier head and the model I’ve selected is ultra high gain with a touch of darkness.

I like it already. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 38—Revolution Amplification Bully XX

Guitar Scarebear

The Scarebear plectrum map

I’ve made a few friends on social networks like Twitter and a few of those friends have commented on my custom Scarebear plectrums from Grover Allman. Is a few of a few one or two? Either way, I’ve mailed several plectrums to people from all over the place. Several must be more than a few because I know I’ve sent more than three plectrums. To prove my point, I made myself a plectrum themed map of the Earth with placeholders for the locations I’ve mailed plectrums to.

All those lucky people with Scarebear plectrums. … The Scarebear plectrum map

Guitar

Rock Prodigy—awesome Blog content

I’ve written before about Rock Prodigy‘s initial iOS app collection and their PC software option for guitarists wanting to improve their playing skills. They were also kind enough to answer my six scary questions. This company is quite honestly one of my favourite guitar companies. They’re not only creating very cool software, they’re doing it to assist people with their guitar playing skills. There are many levels to their software allowing beginners through to experienced guitarists to learn something new and exciting. What’s not to love there?

More importantly though, they also give away many lessons through their Blog. Kudos to them I say. … Rock Prodigy—awesome Blog content

Guitar

Custom leather guitar straps from Grover Allman

Last year I ordered some custom guitar plectrums from Grover Allman. They are quite honestly awesome. That’s not only my opinion though. I’ve sent a few of these plectrums around the world over the last 12 months and people seem to love them. Just ask Evangelos Koudonas (he used them on his last Bandcamp release). So when I saw Grover Allman’s Instagram post regarding custom guitar straps, I got excited. Then I contacted them and placed an order for a custom guitar strap to match my plectrums. What I’ve received has so far made my day/week/month/year.

I love the smell of good leather.

… Custom leather guitar straps from Grover Allman

Guitar

52 Amplifier Heads, week 37—Mack Heatseeker HS-18

Australian’s have some weird sayings and/or phrases. I know, I’m one of them and I use them often. Dead set. I mention this because when researching this week’s dream amplifier head I was pleasantly surprised to see a testimonial on the Mack Heatseeker HS-18 website that started with “Crikey! …”

I knew exactly what was being said and I knew I would love this amplifier. The more I looked into it the more I realised that this amplifier head would surely go off like a fish in the sun! That’s also a good thing if you’re unsure. … 52 Amplifier Heads, week 37—Mack Heatseeker HS-18

Guitar

Evangelos Koudonas—Interviewed Scarebear style!

I have done a few articles which I labelled Six scary questions recently and I feel incredibly lucky to have done those (I’ve interviewed some really amazing companies). I love that the Internet makes so many people so accessible. I also love that the Internet makes so many talented people known to me. That recently got me thinking that there are some people out there that I’ve come across on Twitter and/or Facebook that are clearly too talented to be as unknown as they are. I can’t do anything to fix that, but I can ask them a series of questions to see if they’re willing to share a bit about themselves for anybody who is interested.

Evangelos Koudonas is one of those people. Luckily for me, he agreed to an online chat which I’ll call an interview. It makes me feel like I’m a journalist. … Evangelos Koudonas—Interviewed Scarebear style!