Guitar Jam

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Dear GJD Subscriber,

You may be wondering why The Daily Feed hasn't been delivered to you over the past few weeks.

When we switched over to our new website we needed to make a change in the way we manage the site content and deliver The Daily Feed, which resulted in a temporary pause in our daily email schedule. Also, we decided that since we needed to reprogram the delivery system that we would also redesign the email template too, which is adding to our delay. I apologize that we are behind a bit, but should have everything back on track in a week or so and will return to our normal daily delivery schedule.

Thank you for your subscription to GuitarJamDaily. We are confident that the new version of The Daily Feed will be worth the wait and even more valuable to you!

Best,

Nick Friese
Founder
GuitarJamDaily
[email protected]
www.guitarjamdaily.com

A New Guitar Jam Daily

It was time for a change. After a year of life as a blog for guitar players, it was time for Guitar Jam Daily to grow-up and become a full service guitar website. And today marks the first official day for Guitar Jam Daily in it's new form as a website and community for those who love the guitar as much as we do.

Things look much different today for Guitar Jam Daily than they did yesterday. And there will continue to be many changes and improvements ahead for you as a reader. We have a stable of new columnists, teachers, features, video, podcasts, and more in store for you over the weeks ahead. Plus, we have some amazing players that will be on the Jamcast too - Warren Haynes, Mike Landau, Phil Keaggy, and more. Not to mention some industry icons that will also be featured and will write for you.

One thing that won't change - ever - our daily publishing schedule. We will continue to publish guitar information for you each day so you won't miss a thing. That will always be a constant as there is just SO much to cover for guitar players - and we will never stop looking for and reporting on the world of guitar on a 24-hour basis.

Plug into the new Guitar Jam Daily. We hope you'll find it to be your most valuable resource for all things guitar. And feel free to let us know what you think!

Sincerely,

Nick and Ken
[email protected]
[email protected]

www.guitarjamdaily.com

**Please Note** This week the daily email drops will be put on hold until we launch our new email publication, however, the new site will still have new stories every day. So please visit the site for the latest and greatest.

Artist to Watch: Goran Ivanovic on The Jamcast - Session 1

In this edition of The Jamcast, GJD’s Ken Volpe spends some time with Artist to Watch Goran Ivanovic - a guitar virtuoso noted for his lightning-fingered finesse and his complex interpretations of even the simplest melodies.

Ken spoke with Goran about his early training as a Classical guitarist, life growing up in Bosnia, and about crossing over from Classical to improvisational music.

Plug into Session 1 of The Jamcast >

About Goran Ivanovic: Goran Ivanovic from Croatia is a talented jazz guitarist. A solid bandleader who surrounds himself with American musicians, Ivanovic embraces his traditional Balkan folk music overtly. He plays hot. The Goran Ivanovic Group offers up fire rather than ice, and the guitarist’s amalgamation of flamenco, Balkan, classical, blues, and jazz keeps his band pushing forward almost all of the time on his eponymous album…Ivanovic’s group interacts on a heady and passionate musical plane...the ensemble playing is often breakneck and consistently challenging. The Group’s repertoire is loaded with dynamics, and they move from soft contemplative interludes to wholly original, speed-driven Balkan jazz.” –Downbeat Magazine, June 2006

EVH: The Real Reason for The Breakup

According to a new story in Rolling Stone magazine, the real reason for the collapse of the 2007 Van Halen tour wasn't just ego between Eddie and Dave. Reports are that Eddie's alcohol abuse was the actual downfall of the reunion tour.

There are some clues in Eddie's erratic behavior playing at this recent Kenny Chesney show, coupled with his cock-eyed appearance at the Winter NAMM Show which may reveal some possible issues.

The magazine story says that the group members "were thrilled about the first shows with Roth since 1984."  Sammy Hagar told Rolling Stone that Eddie "was drinking 24/7" during Van Halen's tour in 2004.

It is also being reported that Eddie will not attend the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Van Halen on March 12th in New York City.

Don't Miss Ronny North's Upcoming Shows! Click On Images

Carvin Introduces NS1 Nylon Synth Guitar

Press Release
Carvin, announces a revolutionary breakthrough for today’s guitarist—introducing the new NS1 Nylon Synth Access guitar. Featuring the stunning beauty and impeccable playing characteristics that have made Carvin’s custom guitar shop legendary, the NS1 Nylon Synth Access guitar combines the attributes of a nylon string acoustic with the power of MIDI synthesizer access—opening new doors of creative expression for guitarists everywhere.

The NS1’s world-class workmanship is evident throughout. Featuring gold plated hardware and Carvin’s 4A Flame Maple top, the NS1 exhibits a rich, hand-crafted appearance that endears itself to all who encounter it. And like all Carvin guitars, the NS1 is available in a wide selection of color options. Designed for a lifetime of musical enjoyment, the NS1 incorporates a wood body binding effect on the edge of the flame Maple top—unlike the plastic molded binding found on other guitars.

This guitar features a neck that extends the entire length of the instrument, and where the neck meets the body, players will surely appreciate the NS1’s smooth heel—a characteristic that further enhances playability. With its chambered Mahogany body, the NS1 provides a higher level of resonance—giving the instrument the characteristics of a nylon string guitar while making it lighter and, hence, easier to play and more comfortable over the course of a performance.

Further increasing the NS1’s overall level of playability is its Ebony fingerboard featuring a semi-flat 20-inch radius, a characteristic preferred by nylon string players as opposed to a more arched design. Utilizing a 25.5-inch scale with 21 medium-jumbo frets, the new NS1 feels “right at home” in the guitarist’s hands.

As a performance tool, the NS1 excels. By plugging a standard guitar cable into the instrument, guitarists are able to play the NS1 through any acoustic amp or PA. Further, the NS1’s active EQ circuits deliver a full bottom end that accurately conveys the sound of a full sized acoustic body guitar. Featuring stacked mid cut/boost and mid sweep controls for the midrange plus stacked treble and bass cut/boost controls, the incredible NS1 enables guitarists to sculpt the perfect acoustic tone on any amplification system.

Designed to extract the utmost expression from its players, the NS1’s piezo pickup system uses a natural compression that is very similar to an acoustic guitar. Guitarists can play as hard as they want without overloading the input channel, and they’ll never experience that dreaded piezo “quack.” The onboard piezo pickup can be used with or without a MIDI/Synth interface.

With all these features, Carvin’s new NS1 offers today’s cutting-edge guitarist even more. The real magic comes by plugging the NS1 into a guitar synthesizer module using the provided 13-pin cable. Carvin worked closely with Graph Tech Guitar Labs when developing the NS1’s Hexaphonic pickup system and the result is fast, accurate MIDI tracking that guitarists have been demanding.
The NS1’s revolutionary Hexaphonic pickup sends a signal for each individual string as well as a summed signal via the 13-pin cable. The system enables both synthesizer and acoustic sounds to be created using this single cable. The instrument’s Hexaphonic output is MIDI compatible with synthesizer controllers such as Roland’s GR-33 Guitar Synthesizer, VG-88 V-Guitar System, V-Bass System, the Roland GI-20 GK-MIDI Interface, the Axon AX100 Guitar-MIDI converter, and many more. For convenient scrolling through MIDI synth patches, the NS1 provides a mini toggle switch.

Mark Kiesel, Vice President of Carvin Corporation, shared his enthusiasm on the company’s new NS1 Nylon Synth Access guitar. “Our new NS1 was designed to provide a wealth of sonic experiences,” said Kiesel, “enabling guitarists of all musical styles to explore new sonic territory. The NS1 is capable of delivering breathtaking nylon string acoustic performances while providing the opportunity to explore the musical realm of MIDI synthesis. I’m confident players of all musical styles will find the NS1 a most compelling choice for their musical expression.”

Carvin’s new NS1 Nylon Synth Access guitar carries a direct price of $1399.00 and is expected to be available in April 2007.

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CD Review: Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter Live at The 1988 Montreaux Jazz Festival

By Joe Sass
It's so refreshing to encounter a new release by Carlos Santana that takes the listener back in time and reintroduces the classic sounds of Carlos. Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter Live at The 1988 Montreaux Jazz Festival is Carlos straight up, no (pop) rocks - just the way we like ‘em.

Clearly the pop parings from Sir Clive in the late nineties and early 2000 brought Carlos new fans and revived his career. And yes it was nice to see that Carlos won nine Grammy's for “Smooth” and the album “Supernatural.” Certainly a class act collecting his dues. That song and album may have some modern day acclaim and staying power, but simply doesn’t provide the purity or the gravitas of a song like “Samba Pa Ti” on an album like Abraxas - where the black magic of Carlos lives.

Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter Live at The 1988 Montreaux Jazz Festival is a pinch and sprinkle of that ol'magic dust.

The pairing of Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter started off as a goof when Santana said to his longtime friend in 1987, "Let's start a rumor that we're putting a band together." And Wayne responded, "Yeah, Carlos, let's start a rumor."

Shortly after this conversation between buddies in 1987 they formed the Carlos Santana/Wayne Shorter Band with a range of musicians that included hundreds of hit records between them. The following year they found themselves on stage at The Fillmore in San Francisco, and it was the beginning of a 26-concert tour throughout the U.S. and Europe with the show at Montreaux that many claimed to be the performance of the year.

The live album has the same textures and sonic traits of Santana’s early work, which makes the album so enjoyable. The jazz and percussive Latin vibe must have contributed to the quality of the performance and moved Carlos into that productive and inspired musical zone that put his guitar in flight for the two sets. His extraordinary playing during this show can be considered some of his finest moments as an artist and guitar maestro.

But the beauty of this performance is the amount of space Carlos and Wayne gave to each other. You won’t find a battle of the spotlight anywhere in the two hours of music. The two giants strike a perfect balance of guitar and sax. And you can practically hear Carlos pointing to Wayne on each turn. 

There is an extraordinary comfort that these two musicians have playing together. Like the good friends that they are, they know simply when to speak to one another with their instruments and when to hang back. The musical conversations offer intimacy, humor, spunk, moody moments, and uplifting surges. Sublime musical textures weave throughout the two-hour performance. It's an unforgettable CD and one if you're a fan of Carlos a performance that will be at the top of your play list. 

Some of the highlights include the rush of “Peraza,” the tender guitar work on “Goodness and Mercy,” the biting legato runs on “Sanctuary,” “Blues For Salvador’s” emotive and raw tones, and finally the crown jewel “Europa” – that has such perfect guitar moments it will leave you breathless.

The Set List: Spiritual, Peraza, Shhh, Incident at Neshabur, Elegant People, Goodness & Mercy, Sanctuary, For Those Who Chant, Blues for Salvador, Fireball 2000, Ballroom in the Sky, Once It's Gotcha, Mandela, Deeper, Dig Deeper, Europa

The Musicians: Carlos Santana - guitar / Wayne Shorter - saxophone / Chester Thompson - keyboards / Patrice Rushen - keyboards / Alphonso Johnson - bass / Armando Peraza - congas / Jose Chepito Areas - timbales / Leon "Ndugu" Chancler – drums

Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter Live at Montreaux was recorded on July 14, 1988 and comes as a DVD, Collectors DVD, and CD that includes two sets of music, interviews with Carlos, Wayne and the creator of the Montreaux Jazz Festival.

Guitar Speaker Simulator To Ship in May

Press Release
In a cooperative developmental effort with the guitar amp specialty firm of Tonehunter, SPL will present at its Frankfurt Musikmesse stand, B84 in Hall 5.1, a new 2U, 19-inch format guitar speaker and microphone stand-in called Transducer. The Transducer is connected and operated exactly like any guitar speaker box so that a guitar amp's distortion can also be integrated into the sound design.

Among the important advantages the manufacturer envisions is independence from volume levels during performances or recording sessions that also provides added hearing protection from in-ear monitoring in any kind of session, whether studio, live or private. Furthermore the Transducer concept grants greater sonic flexibility in comparison to fixed box/microphone gear, independence from room acoustics in recordings and eliminates phasing problems with track doubling thanks to latency free design. It provides for a live signal in recording quality without crosstalk from miking, great space and weight reduction in transport, time-saving setup and simplifies experimentation with sound variations.

SPL emphasizes the Transducer's authentic sound qualities and real time response for the guitar player that are missing in digital simulations due to latencies in processing.

The Transducer sports two main controls to adjust its sound: "Speaker Action" works analogous to a speaker's cone behaviour at different levels through to an audible cone distortion effect. Similarly, "Miking Level" recreates a microphone's characteristic at different recording levels. Further switchable functions allow the choices of alnico or ceramic speakers, closed or open housings, condenser or dynamic microphones - as well as adjustments to miking distances.

The planned Transducer delivery date is for May 2007, with SPL targeting a price of under 1000 Euro/1500 USD.

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