The Art of Jimi - Photographer-designers Gered Mankowitz and David Costa will unveil their long-anticipated Hear My Message project in September, consisting of a limited-run Fender Stratocaster guitar that celebrates Jimi Hendrix. Only 375 examples will be made of the Ink Icon Guitars Portrait Edition reproduction of a 1969 N.O.S. Fender Stratocaster. Constructed by Fender's Californian Custom Shop, each model will be decorated with a classic portrait shot of Hendrix by Gered Mankowitz, silkscreened onto the body with the lyric "Hear My Message" (from 'Message To Love') reproduced in Jimi's hand. The guitars can be ordered through www.icon-guitars.co.uk.

Website problems: Sorry folks, I am well aware that certain images in the archives of this weblog are not working. This is because my hosting site (which was supposed to offer 50mB free for life) has inexplicably been deleted. I am desperately trying to find all the photos from the archives and load them up to another server, then make the corrections in the code. Most my pics were on a CD-R labelled "Guitars and Stuff", but can I find this anywhere now? Grrrrrr...

(The "My Guitars" section needs re-doing anyway as it is now hopelessly out of date.)

Yesterday, my Vox Brian May Special amp arrived at last. (Well, I say arrived, but I still had to go collect it from the music shop and then hump it all the way home. A handle in the box wouldn't have been too much to ask, I feel).

Anyway, I've not had a really good trial with it yet. Just tried out various settings and experimented playing various different guitars through it. I'll try to write a fuller report on it later.

More info at www.voxamps.co.uk

WD Music UK/Europe - Great Britain's largest online source of guitar parts!

Designed to revive the lost art of self accompaniment, the The Porchboard (floor) Bass is an amplified, analog, rhythm instrument originally intended for solo guitar players. As a player-controlled timekeeping tool, it is beneficial for students, song writers and seasoned musicians.

Because it incorporates the natural technique of tapping your feet to the music, it allows the musician to control the bass rhythm without using artificial rhythm machines or midi equipment. Each tap of the player's foot produces a low-end, full-bodied, bassy beat that is more percussive than a bass guitar, yet sounds fuller and more resonant than most bass drums.

When accompanying a guitar, the PORCH BOARD (floor) BASS gives the impression that the bass "notes" are changing, allowing the solo performer to play with heartfelt intimacy and with a natural, bass beat that many desire. The perfect guitar accessory, the PORCH BOARD (floor) BASS can be mastered in a minimum amount of time... (more)

I recently acquired this rather gorgeous fire-engine red Epiphone Junior which is a budget version of the now legendary Gibson Les Paul Junior guitar, this one having a bolt-on neck.

Anyway, I'm not going to be able to hang on to this lovely guitar, as I have got something like twenty in the house now and it's getting a bit out of order. So, I will be selling this on very soon. If anyone in the UK is interested, please contact me. Offers in the region of £100 please (very reasonable I think).

Lady Six String - your online guide to the female guitarist!

Wayward guitar brand back for a rockin' encore - an article about Dean guitars.

I just couldn't resist buying this old and battered cello guitar as a renovation project - it just looks so beautiful.

Here's a close-up of the main damage, where the neck has pulled forward and the area behind the neck has become unstuck.

It looks like the neck needs re-setting and the whole thing clamping up somehow. If anyone has any tips or knows how to do this, then please contact me.

No one asks for encore from 520 guitar players
By Reuters, 6/29/2003

PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - They might have played out of tune, but at least they're the world's largest guitar band.

More than 520 serious and would-be guitar players gathered in Portland, Oregon Sunday to set a record for Guinness World Records and raise funds for a nonprofit organization for the homeless.

The massed guitarists strummed Woody and Arlo Guthrie's ''This Land is Your Land'' in the key of G for an hour, led by a band of amplified musicians from a local music store.

Participants wore lyrics and chord guides on the backs of their shirts to aid the players behind them.

''I thought I might cry because an hour is a long time but I think also there is something in the song,'' said organizer Monica Beemer.

To meet Guinness requirements, guitarists registered before two witnesses and wore numbers during play. Beemer, who worked with Guinness officials, said the record was easily set.

''We really can't fail today because there is no record,'' she said. ''Next year we'll try to break this record.''