Line 6 HD500

Hi everyone! So im in the market for some new effects pedals, and yesterday I decided too go and have a look and feel of a few and one of them I had a look at was the new Line 6 HD500 multi effects processor.

What was my impression of this pedal?? Bloody fantastic!!!!!!!

Now for some of you who know me will know that I am a Boss fan. Always have been, and probably always will. Boss really does make some excellent equipment and I have never been let down. BUT, after playing with this machine I am totally blown away! When people talk about the HD500 there is always one thing they all have in common...crazy amp modulation. And I can tell you the same thing, it’s crazy good, you won’t even know the difference between solid state amp or tube amp, in fact you will probably try to find the hidden valve amp in the room. Before we continue, this is what I am talking about.

Now the only thing I must admit is that you pretty much need a degree to work this thing... But once you get the hang of it, there’s nothing to it!

If you look at the top image you will see a set of 12 heavy duty stomp box type switches, very nice touch and easy to access. The display is a bit small but you can still see what’s cooking down below. Now basically in a nutshell without going in too much detail (which btw I can't) the whole pedal works on a stomp box type system. The display actually shows you images of stomp boxes which are being used at that specific time.

Just to explain this better; the two left side switches (one bottom, one top) are the bank switches. Within these banks you have 4 either pre-sets or effects which you can save to (these are the bottom 4 after the bank switch). There are a lot of banks so more than enough space. The top four switches after the top bank switch are effects, amp modes or whatever which are assigned to that specific patch you are using within a bank. SO, let’s say you are within a patch that has a Marshall stack, Distortion and delay effects assigned to it but you also have a reverb and tremolo effect which is assigned but not activated at the moment. You can play using the patch and whenever you need your reverb, tremolo or even both you can just step on the switch and Bobs' your aunty! Just like activating or de-activating stomp boxes!

It's a mouth full yes, so I hope that made sense.

It has an expression pedal with a toe switch for easy switching between volume, wah or whatever you would like to assign to it. It has a jack for an additional foot switch so you don’t have to use the toe switch but that’s up to you.

Above that all you have a loop machine, built in tuner and you can even have more than one amp model assigned at the same time! OR you can switch between amp models within the same patch....the possibilities are endless. This pedal really does stand out compared to the big boys out there, and for the price it’s a steal. In SA you are looking at a retail of about R7-8k.

There is so much in this pedal that it would make it impossible to cover all the insane features it has but the above are just a few that I found appealing.

If you are looking for some more info on the pedal check out their website. For more reviews and sound, check out the below video from Line 6 at a NAMM demonstration.

Happy Rocking!

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Paul Gilbert - Insane Solo Live

Man this guy is just totally insane!!! Every now and then when I need some inspiration or just want to look at some awesome guitar solos I check out some of Paul Gilbert's Videos.

This is a recent one I watched and thought why the hell not share it??? So I am! He is playing on a custom Ibanez double neck guitar BUT, this is the insane thing... hes playing a specific and hardcore lick which only uses three strings..the cool thing is that normally you would use a technique called string skipping together with legato picking (stay tuned, I will be covering both these techniques soon). Now Paul is using legato picking but obviously with only three strings there isn't much string skipping going on!

So check out the below video! Comment and let me know what you think!

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Four Fret Arpeggio Exercise

So this is the second exercise I find very useful...a bit harder but worth it. The trick about this exercise and any other exercise is not to try and see how fast you can play it, but rather how well you do so. In other words, make sure that the notes you play sound perfect, make sure your fingers are where they are supposed to be and do not lift your fingers from the notes you have played!!

So here it is:

Starting on low E: first finger, first fret, second finger, second fret but on A string, third finger, third fret but on D string, fourth finger, fourth fret but played on the G string. Once all four fingers are on the fret board, it will look something like this:








When you are done you can then do the same thing but in reverse: Fourth finger, fourth fret on the G string. Third finger, third fret on the D string etc etc.

Both finger exercises I have covered should be done for atleast 10min before you start playing guitar. It might not seem like it helps but it does. Soon enough I will start covering timing and picking techniques/tips that you can add to your exercises.

Before you know it you will be shredding like a master


Happy rocking!!

Paul Gilbert Official Site USA

Check out this site http://paulgilbert.com/
This guy will make you want to give up playing!!

To see some of his insane playing go to http://youtube.com/ and just search paul gilbert...enjoy!

Killer finger exercises!! Four fret finger exercise

My first blog post!! How suitable is it that I start my blog on the dreaded finger exercises...dum dum dum...

My students will cringe when they read this but unfortunately finger exercises are key to being a good guitar player! Two exercises I find really useful and a MUST before you start playing and before ending. Starting on low E string, first finger, first fret. Second finger, second fret. Third finger, third fret and lastly fourth finger, fourth fret. Picking down once per finger/fret. Continue doing this for each string moving down from low E.

No Cheating!!!! The trick with this finger exercise and what makes it useful is that for each finger you put down starting on the first fret, then second etc. you do not lift up that finger. This makes it a lot harder but helps your fingers stretch and get used to the fret distance. For example, when you are on low E string, by the time you get to the fourth fret, you should have four fingers one for each fret on your fret board.

See the image if have trouble understanding. I will post a video link if the image makes no sense

Happy rocking!!