The Riffstation Low Down Riffstation is a modest and appropriately titled three-in-one stand alone program that's primary function is based around helping you, the budding guitarist and/or seasoned expert guitarist, through learning songs the old fashioned way with modern approaches pitched in as well. That's right. Riffstation is all about learning with your ears. Being the anti-tab guy that I am I pretty much...

Guitar Gallery Time: Red Guitars Not too long ago a gallery had popped up around these parts paying homage to one of the most beloved colors to smother the body of a guitar with. Taking pointers from that, why not have another about, say, red? Speaking of red it's time for a fun fact. Of all the guitars I've owned there have been more red guitars than any other individual color. It's not so much that I've ever...

A new acoustic and an electric from the Paul Reed Smith Exclusive Collection Guitar manufacturing magicians Paul Reed Smith have unveiled their newest additions to their highly limited Collection Series. Continuing the Collector Series tradition of an electric and an acoustic PRS offers the new Series III Grand acoustic and the Series III McCarty new semi-hollow body guitar. They are part of a series of guitars...

How To Eliminate Slavery In Your Own Guitar Habits "Your hands are like dogs, going to the same places they've been. You have to be careful when playing is no longer in the mind but in the fingers, going to happy places. You have to break them of their habits or you don't explore; you only play what is confident and pleasing. I'm learning to break those habits by playing instruments I know absolutely nothing about,...

Masterful technique isn't always flashy. We practice technique so we can be fluent on the guitar. Hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, grace notes—there's a reason these techniques are called articulations. They're what Frank Zappa called the “eyebrows” of music. They're expressive. When I name modes like phrygian, aeolian, and lydian, some players would accuse me of being pretentious and technical. But though those te...