Geoff's Guitar Chords

The World of Guitar Gear

Bring On The Gear!

Once in a while, it's always nice to take a look at what tools are available to us as guitarists. With hundreds of effects, guitars, and amps to choose from, finding gear that suits your needs can be a daunting task.

I know what you're thinking, "I'm pretty sure he just did a gear article a few months ago." My response to that thought comes in two parts. First, you can never have enough gear. Secondly, we're putting a new spin on this article. For the first time we will be looking at professional level gear. If you're serious about playing guitar, we're going to show you the tools that will put you into the spotlight.

This article comes with a warning: You might have to break your piggy bank if you actually plan to acquire some of these items. While some quality gear can be found for a reasonable amount, the guitars featured here are not your everyday beginner guitars. Let's get started.

FENDER Eric Johnson US Strat

When Fender and Eric Johnson joined forces to create this eloquent masterpiece, guitarists around the world knew that whatever the resulting product was, it would sound like a little piece of heaven.

This vintage style design employs modern technology that allows you to continually grow as a guitarist. The days of bad intonation and muddy tone are no more.

Johnson opted for a one-piece, quartersawn maple neck with a 12" radius that's finished with a thin-skinned glossy lacquer and vintage tint. What that equates to is a silky smooth neck with great playability.

Believe it or not, Johnson went through 19 prototype pickups before he landed on the perfect tone! It is yet another example that proves how much craftsmanship went into this instrument.

This instrument will inspire confidence and perform flawlessly every time. It's the perfect remedy for the guitarist who has grown out of their starter guitar, or for the professional who is looking for a new tone to add to their collection. I highly recommend it!

Here are a few of the other great features this guitar has to offer:

• 2-Piece, Deep Contoured, '57 Style Lightweight Alder Body
• Neck 1-Piece Vintage Tinted Quartersawn Maple, Soft "V" Shape (Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish)
• Thinner Vintage-Style Headstock
• Bone nut
• 21 Highly Polished Medium Jumbo Frets
• 3 Special Design Custom Shop Eric Johnson Pickups with Countersunk Mounting Screws (Neck/Middle/Bridge)
• American Vintage Synchronized Tremolo with "Ash Tray" Bridge Cover with Silver Painted Block and '57 Style String Recess (No Paint Between Base Plate and Block)

Check it out for yourself by clicking here. This guitar is priced at $1629.99.

IBANEZ SZ4020FMNTF Natural Flat Flamed Maple

• SZ Prestige (neck-thru)
• 5pc. Maple/ Walnut Neck Material
• Mahogany/ Flamed Maple top
• Body 22/Medium frets
• Bound Rosewood Finger Board
• Gibraltar Custom bridge
• Seymour Duncan IBZ (H) Neck PU
• Seymour Duncan IBZ (H) Bridge PU
• Prestige on 12th Fret Inlay
• CK : Hardware Color

Check it out for yourself by clicking here. This guitar is priced at $1294.00.

• BODY SIZE: 000-14 Fret Cutaway
• TOP: Solid Sitka Spruce
• ROSETTE: Bold Herringbone w/Single D-18 Ring On Each Side Of Herringbone
• TOP BRACING PATTERN: 0001 Hybrid
• BACK MATERIAL: Solid East Indian Rosewood
• SIDE MATERIAL: Solid East Indian Rosewood
• ENDPIECE INLAY: Black/White Boltaron®
• BINDING: White Boltaron®
• TOP INLAY STYLE: Multiple Black / White
• NECK MATERIAL: Solid Spanish Cedar
• NECK SHAPE: Modified Low Oval
• NUT MATERIAL: White Corian®
• HEADSTOCK: Solid/6 String No Diamond/Standard Taper
• HEADPLATE: Solid East Indian Rosewood /Gold Foil Logo
• FINGERBOARD MATERIAL: Black Micarta®

Over a hundred years of craftsmanship and excellence has brought D'Addario to new heights in the realm of professional music. It's hard to believe that this massive company had such humble beginnings traced back to the Italian countryside.

The D'Addario family history is rich and full of life. The first documented member of the D'Addario family is Donato D'Addario. His identity is known through a baptismal certificate filled out by Mr. D'Addario in 1680. The certificate gives us an unique insight into the future, his occupation was listed as "cordaro" which is translated to string maker.

This company made strings long before machines and manufacturing plants were introduced. These farmers used the stomachs of sheeps and hogs to create strings for guitars, lutes, violins and various other bowed instruments. If they were that creative with some sheep's stomach, imagine how well they're doing in today's society.

Since that time, D'Addario has also created extensive product lines tailored to suit the needs of musicians from all genres. Planet Wave's guitar accessories are known the world over for being the best in guitar accessories for all skill levels.

With that said, Guitar Tips is pleased to announce our new partnership with D'Addario. You can look forward to seeing this column every month as we introduce new products to you and share the latest news on D'Addario.

The story gets even better. D'Addario has graciously offered to donate an exclusive giveaway package valued at $250 each month! That's right, you have the chance to get your hands on the best gear D'Addario has to offer each and every month. How do you enter this unique contest? It's simple, just fill out this form:

By entering this contest, you give D'Addario the right to contact you via email. Your email and personal information will not be shared with anyone under any circumstances.

...Now, let's move onto the first product spotlight!

Planet Waves Tuners

When you walk into your local music store, you'll find dozens of different tuners. Some work well, others don't even deserve to be there. For me this was a personal struggle and a constant battle between quality and money. Unfortunately, in the guitar world you get what you pay for, therefore, guitarists spend more money to get higher quality gear.

When Planet Waves went to the design table to create some new tuners, they had the guitarist in mind. Here's what D'Addario's CEO and Chairman Jim D'Addario had to say about their latest line:

"A few years ago, we set out to create a line of Planet Waves tuners that were durable, reliable, affordable, and more innovative than what was currently on the market.

We went through many prototypes and hundreds of designs to come out with this new line, and both consumers and dealers will be pleased with the features and the affordable price range. These are professional-quality products that will satisfy the needs of the beginner or the professional on stage in front of 20,000 fans."

...As a guitarist, I couldn't agree more with Mr. D'Addario. These tuners utilize the latest strobe technology, and offer extraordinary accuracy. Most of the tuners also feature beautiful, easily visible display screens. Whether you're tuning your guitar from home or onstage, you want to keep things simple and fast. Here is the family of Planet Waves tuners:

...As you can see, there are a lot of tuners in this picture. We're going to investigate some of the more portable models in this product spotlight. You can look forward to seeing (and watching) the other models in our next edition.

The S.O.S. (Strobe-On-String) Tuner

Picture Courtesy Planet Waves

This cost effective tuner uses strobing LED lights projected onto the string to tune. When the strobes stop "moving" on the string, the string is in tune! No input or even sound is necessary. Perfect for loud, noisy environments or acoustic guitars with no 1/4 inch jack.

The Planet Waves Pocket Tuner

Picture Courtesy Planet Waves

This is a lightweight, pocket-sized tuner with Planet Wave's sweep/strobe rotary display and is an input/output equipped in-line tuner. Essentially, it combines all of the features of the S.O.S. tuner with the best features of a regular tuner. The 1/4 inch jack allows you to tune your electric quick and easily, while the mic lets you tune your acoustic. For loud noise situations, switch to strobe and you're all set. Perfect for any situation where you need to tune and works on every guitar.

The Pro-Winder Tuner

Picture Courtesy Planet Waves

This extremely interesting tuner combines the best-selling Planet Wave's Pro-Winder multi-tool with a chromatic tuner to create an incredibly useful five-in-one tool, including tuner, string winder, string cutter, string stretcher, and bridge-pin puller. This is one very cool tool! Best of all, it works! Perfect for changing over strings without pulling out your regular tuner. It also helps prevent your strings from snapping, seeing as you can check to see how high you are tuning each string.

With all of that in mind, don't forget to visit Planet Waves site. Click here to go there now. I wish you all of the best in our contest and the winner will be notified at the end of the month. You only need to enter once, we will draw from the same pool of entries each month.

Join us next month as we continue to look to the future with D'Addario!

If you've got a particular guitar web site, cool product, new invention or can just play the guitar really well and have amazing tips and tricks to share with our subscribers -- send us an e-mail and we'll be glad to review it.

Our Free Guitar Tips Newsletter is sent out every fortnight to over 250,000 readers all over the world and we're always looking for something new and exciting to include.

Please Note: We cannot include every submission we get, but we'll promise to check out what you've got and give you an answer within 3 business days.

Currently, we are looking for bands and unique guitar talent to feature in our upcoming Fall newsletters. Anyone who has submitted material in the past need not apply again as we will be reviewing all previous entries.

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Unfortunately, we have come to the end of yet another Guitar Tips newsletter. I sincerely hope you have enjoyed reading about all of the latest gear circulating in the guitar world. I hope you take the time to check some it out for yourself at your local music store.

A special thanks goes out to D'Addario for their gracious offer. It all boils down to helping you succeed as a guitarist. Best of luck in the contest!

Our Guitar Tips feature band will return next week. I apologize that it didn't appear in this newsletter as previously advertised but there were a few slight complications and we needed to postpone. Look for it next week and don't forget to tell us about your band if you would like to get some valuable media attention.

Until next time, keep on picking!

Jordan Warford
Editorial Manager
Guitar Tips Pty Ltd