Gretsch just released their new archtop hollow body guitar, the Gretsch G100CE Archtop. I've read several reviews about this guitar (although I admit I haven't actually picked one up and played it) that rave about the quality of this instrument for the price. This acoustic / electric guitar comes in 3 different colors, the natural (which has an orange-looking tint to it), black, and Matte Urethane Finish. This guitar also has a floating pickup with tone and volume control mounted to the pickguard, and at a price of around $750 - that makes this guitar a steal! I REALLY want one of these guitars!

For the geeks out there, here are the specs on this guitar:

MODEL NAME	G100CE, G100CEBK, Synchromatic Acoustic/Electric Archtop
MODEL NUMBER	251-5831-(Color#)
SERIES	Synchromatic Collection: Archtop Models
COLORS	(506) Black, (G100CEBK), (521) Natural, (G100CE), (Matte Urethane Finish)
CATEGORY	Acoustic Guitars
BODY STYLE	Acoustic Archtop
SCALE LENGTH	25.5"
TOP	Laminated Spruce
BRACING	Parallel Tone-Bars
BACK AND SIDES	Laminated Maple Body, 16" Wide, 2.75" Deep
NECK	3-Piece Maple
PICKUPS	Gretsch Single-Coil
PICKUP SWITCHING	None
CONTROLS	Volume, Tone (Mounted in Pickguard)
WIDTH AT NUT	1-11/16" (43mm)
FRETBOARD	Rosewood
BRIDGE	Rosewood Height-Adjustable Synchromatic Bridge
TAILPIECE	Chromatic Tail-piece
HARDWARE	Chrome
FINISH	Matte Urethane
CASE	Optional G2163 Gig Bag, US MSRP $100.00, P/N 0996459000, (Not Included)
NO. OF FRETS	20 Extra Broad Frets
MACHINE HEADS	Chrome-Plated Die-cast Tuners
UNIQUE FEATURES	Vintage Wide Pearloid Block Inlay Position Markers, 1940s Synchromatic Headstock Shape, Black Headstock Overlay, Pearloid Vintage Gretsch Logo Headstock Inlay, Bound Fingerboard, Multiple Body Bindings, "f" Sound-Holes, Streamlined Faux Tortoise Shell Pickguard, Volume and Tone Controls Mounted in Pickguard, Knurled Strap Retainer Knobs, Adjustable Truss Rod

And lastly, here's a video demo from Austin Powers, errr.. I mean Scott Nygaard (Acoustic Guitar Magazine) demoing the Gretsch G100CE.

I’m now uploading a video podcast on iTunes of all of the guitar lessons as I finish them, so you can sync up and watch these wherever you want.  I thought that would be extremely useful for those who have iPhones or an iPod Touch, so you can now download and take these with you.  Click here if you’d like to subscribe to the ActiveMelody guitar lesson Podcast.

I'm finishing up the Eric Clapton lesson, should have the video and tab uploaded by tomorrow evening so stay tuned. Here's an audio sample of the guitar lick that I'll be demonstrating.

This Eric Clapton guitar lesson is now complete!

I was recently surfing YouTube (as I often do) looking up specific performances by my favorite artists and I came across this one of Eric Clapton playing Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" from the Bobfest concert back in 1992 or early 1993. Being a huge Clapton fan, I've seen (or listened to) just about every bootleg / legitimate concert media there is in existence on him and in my opinion, this particular performance is EC at the top of his game. We all have our favorite eras with his career (and he's had MANY), but to me.. it all came together for this single performance. It's perfect vocally, the band sounds amazing, his guitar playing is phenomenal, for whatever reason - that performance says it all. Keep in mind he had just recorded his Unplugged session just prior to this (and if I remember correctly when Ron Wood introduces him, he makes a comment about his short hair cut), so I think everyone was expecting him to come out and do an acoustic number. It's also interesting that he doesn't play rhythm in this, just plays on in the moments that he's not singing (very much of a BB / Freddie King thing to do), and to be honest I can't think of many other times he's played this way, I suppose it doesn't hurt to have Steve Cropper and G.E. Smith backing you up. Anyway, I love coming across performances like these on YouTube that would be otherwise extremely hard to find.

Gibson just announced a new limited edition acoustic guitar, The Keb' Mo' Bluesmaster (here's a link). I've always been a huge fan of both parlour style acoustics and Gibson guitars, so this guitar is really the best of both worlds. It looks almost identical to the "L" series Gibson that Robert Johnson played (at least the one that shows up in his 2 photographs), although this one has a built-in L.R. Baggs Element pickup with soundhole-mounted volume control. I also love the herringbone trim, very cool! If you're thinking about picking one of these up, you'd better move fast, Gibson is only making 300 of them - otherwise you'll have to pay double price by getting on on eBay. The price tag is $3,868 which isn't half bad considering what you're getting.

By the way, if you aren't familiar with Keb' Mo'... well.. then shame on you. (Google him)

Being a huge connoisseur of blues electric guitar, I thought it would be both fun (and somewhat therapeutic) to start a blues guitar artist series, where every few days I put together a lesson that highlights the guitar style by a well-known blues artist. I was hesitant at first because I know YouTube (and several other online video services) are really cracking down on copyrighted material (and yes that includes even playing familiar guitar licks or riffs) - so I wasn't 100% sure how to go about demonstrating an artists approach to a song if I couldn't use a familiar melody. Then I realized that the people that are passionate about playing blues guitar, might not necessarily care about learning a particular solo from an artist, but are probably more interested in learning technique and approach. It's not like we can all hum our favorite Buddy Guy lick, although we'd certainly recognize one if we heard it.

The way that I'm approaching this is by 1) recording a jam track (a backing band if you will) that reflects the artist (these are available to download for free), 2) Writing a simple solo that uses lots of the key licks / techniques that the artist would use, 3) creating tablature of that solo so that I can solidify it, and 4) putting the whole thing out on YouTube (and this site) for free. It gives me a great excuse to record music and share with others who are passionate about this form of playing what I've spent years learning.

On Sunday night I started with a B.B. King guitar lesson and have already had quite a bit of feedback from folks out there saying that they want more of these kinds of lessons, so later this evening (fingers crossed) I'll put out the second lesson in this series which will be a focus on Robert Cray. I'll just keep building these for a while and welcome any feedback regarding particular blues artists you'd like to hear / learn more about. I don't have any hard/fast strategy on which artists to feature, just doing the ones I love the most (and that list is pretty long). So be sure to check back here for future lessons!

-brian