Video of the Week

When I first saw this video, I thought that Samwise Gamgee had picked up a bass. Boy he must have one strong pinkie to hammer-on all four strings at once. It's a wonder that he didn't saw off his thumb during this performance!!!!

Jesus is My Friend

Absolutely hilarious!!! If you ask me, the guitarist looks like he was inspired by Kip Dynamite, and the backround singer farthest to the right looked like he hated his job. As with most Christian music, I love the message, but the music itself can be rather painful.

Found Some Tabs

Just the other day I found a great website with free tabs. The tabs are improvised versions of the songs, but I think they are neat. I'm working on a couple that I want to master before Christmas so that I can sound somewhat decent when I play with my uncle (he's the type who makes you want to put your guitar down). Anyway, if you're interested go to http://www.lickbyneck.com/.

Video of the Week

Phil Keaggy plays "Fare Thee Well" on what I believe is an Olson guitar. Notice that he doesn't have a middle finger on his right hand. Well, enjoy.

Linda Manzer

You may have noticed that each time I mention Pat Metheny's name (which is quite often) I also bring to attention the luthier, Linda Manzer. It would be very difficult not to do so, considering that she has built over 20 guitars for the man and his collection is ever growing. Linda Manzer is a Canadian guitar maker, and in my opinion, the best in the world. She was apprenticed by luthier pioneer, Jean-Claude Larrivee, in Canada, and worked with him from 1974 to 1978. She also spent some time with Jimmy D'Aquisto in New York. Linda started building full time at 22, and had made a couple instruments in high school, although she did tell me a while ago that she had "wrecked a guitar trying to turn it into John Lennon's Rickenbacker" while in the sixth grade. She now has over 30 years of experience in the art. Linda has recieved high praise from many distinguished guitarists, including Bruce Cockburn and Carlos Santana. After obtaining one of Linda's instruments, Cockburn stated, "I got rid of all my other guitars. I didn't need them anymore." Linda offers a wide selection of guitars and is willing to take on custom jobs. Check out her website by clicking on the "Manzer Guitars" link.

This is one of her custom inlay designs named The Sabotuer.

Metheny-Manzer Signature 6

In 1982, luthier legend and friend of mine, Linda Manzer, created a custom guitar for guitar legend, Pat Metheny, named the Linda 6. She and Pat are currently working on a project to create faithful replicas of this guitar to be called the Metheny-Manzer Signature 6. These guitars have unique features such as the Manzer Wedge, a Diamond side dot on the seventh fret, and a thumb rest/neck groove. Each instrument costs $32,000 and comes in a special, handmade Calton case. Purchasers will receive a photo-book of the creation of their instrument, plus a certificate of authenticy. Only 30 will be made and many peope have already begun to purchase this guitar (including Paul Simon), so if you want one, order quickly. To purchase or recieve information, visit the project's website. These guitars are well worth their price and I reeeaally want one, but they're quite a bit over my budget.

The Pikasso

The mother of all stringed instruments. With multiple heads and 42 strings, the Pikasso is one of the weirdest custom designs ever. Made by genius luthier, Linda Manzer, for Pat Metheny after he asked her to make him a guitar with "as many strings as possible." It took over 2 years (about 1000 hours of work) to build . Hey, I wonder what the tablature looks like?