Seems like everyone and their brother has a “signature guitar” anymore. You seem them from time to time in Guitar Center or the latest Musician’s Friend catalog, but never all at once. The kind of seem to come and go. I decided to list my favorite signature guitar models all at once for you to check out. These are my favorites from Eddie Van Halen, Dave Mustaine, Dimebag Darrell, Michael Schenker, Tony Iommi, Zakk Wylde, George Lynch, Kirk Hammett, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, Slash, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Randy Rhoads, John Petrucci, and Steve Morse. I wish I had them all!

If you’re not a country music fan you might now have heard much of Brad Paisley other than his top 40 hits. You may not realize what a monster guitar player he really is. He’s a rare country music star because he’s a country shredder! Nearly all of the male country music stars can play guitar, but they have a lead guitarist in the band to do all the dirty work. They’re too busy songwriting and singing to play the main guitar part as well - they usually just strum along. Brad Paisley not only plays the lead part, but he tears of the fingerboard with leads like Prince, chicken pickin’ like Chet Atkins, and a flurry of country shred going toe to toe with some of the best rock guitar Gods.

Check out Brad Paisley’s 5 Minute Solo from Sept 2007 concert -

Not convinced? Listen to the ‘Chicken Pickin’ on “Nervous Breakdown” by Brad Paisley -

singing on David Letterman Feb 12, 2008 “Mr. Policeman” - nice guitar work here as well by Brad Paisley

This “Roland Micro Cube Amp Review” tells why this amp packs so much punch for so little a price - and how for the cost of a good pedal you can have an entire practice amp!

Every guitar player needs a good practice amp. Something small and portable that can go anywhere, but has features and versatility for an affordable price. In the past I’ve purchased an owned several Crate and Peavey practice amps that cost around $100. They were only good for 2 things, clean sounds, or extreme metal. Roland has made quality music gear for years, and I have to say I was excited when I saw their “Micro Cube Amp” for the first time.

When you first see the “Micro Cube” you won’t believe how small it is. It’s probably half the size of other practice amps I’ve owned (I guess that’s what they call it ‘micro’). It may only have a 5″ speaker, but it’s loud as hell. The Micro Cube is a “portable amp” much like the “pignose” of yesteryear, because it runs on either AC or battery power (6 AA batteries), and as efficient as the amp is, you can get up to 20 hours of playing time on those batteries.

Using a bit of modern technology, the Micro Cube has 6 DSP effects, so if you want to sound like a Tweed, Jazz Chorus, or Metal Stack - it’s all there! You even get a Phaser, Flanger, and Tremelo. It’s got a “digital tuning fork” for tuning, in addition to both a 1/4″ and 1/8″ jacks so you can either plugin your axe, or a CD player or gadget like a cell phone or mp3 player on the go! You even get an output jack for either headphones or recording, something you seldom see in packages this small! It only weights 7.5lbs, which is probably less than most guitars, and it even has a carrying strap for your shoulder - so if you want to wander around at a local mall or the park and play, you’re always ready to jam!

In this video demo of the Micro Cube I found on YouTube you can check out the acoustic and jazz chorus sounds, very nice! You can really hear the versatility of the DSP amp models that this little amp packs in. The classic stack sounds are phenomenal. He demos the effects in this video as well.

You can always find deals on this little wonder on eBay (both new and used) and you can get it new in the box on both Guitar Center and Musicians Friend (listed below). If you are looking for a “guitar player gift” I highly recommend the “Roland Micro Cube Amp” (especially for students or people living in apartments, condos, and manufatured home communities).

US $56.01 (16 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-08-2008 15:35:26 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $120.79 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Sep-09-2008 4:19:16 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $153.22 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

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US $99.00 End Date: Tuesday Sep-09-2008 7:39:35 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $99.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $214.99 End Date: Tuesday Sep-09-2008 11:16:17 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $214.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $81.07 (1 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Sep-09-2008 21:17:03 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Roland Micro Cube Combo Amp Black The Roland Micro Cube Battery Powered Amp with COSM and Effects gives guitarists a genuine Roland Cube amp in an ultracompact 7-pound package. And when you're doing live gigs, you'll love that it runs on batteries. Despite its tiny proportions, the MicroCube packs a big punch and comes with 6 DSP effects, 7 COSM amp models, and a new Digital Tuning Fork—giving guitarists everything they need for killer tone on the go.

Roland Micro Cube Combo Amp Black Ultracompact portable DSP guitar amp with 5" speaker. 7 COSM guitar amp models including JC-120 and a special mic preamp model. 6 DSP effects: chorus, flanger, phaser, tremolo, and separate delay/reverb. New Digital Tuning Fork with support for flat tunings up to 2 semitones. Recording/headphones output and stereo auxiliary input for CD players, etc.. Runs on 6 AA batteries or AC power (adapter supplied) and includes carrying strap.

This is my “HSS Strat Review” - or “What I Hate Standard Strats!”

I never used to to think I was really either a “Gibson” or “Fender” kinda guy. The first guitar I became really partial to was my Ibanez Artcore semi-hollow body. Well, now that it’s rewired with “Pearly Gates” pickups in both the neck and bridge - maybe that’s why! I had quite a few before this that I got rid of for one reason or another. There are two things I look for in a guitar, and they are “tone” and “versatility”. A standard strat (to me) has NO tone whatsoever in the bridge position, the neck is great for jazz or blues, but all positions lack…..well for lack of a better term - “balls”.

I play a wide variety of music from pop, to rock, southern rock, country, blues, classic rock, dance, disco, a bit of everything. When you’re talking about versatility, I tend to think that humbuckers are the way to go because you can go “balls out” if you need to for say “Gimme 3 Steps”, but cut it down for a very bluesy “Fool For Your Stockings”. You’re good for either “Brickhouse” or “Free for All”.

On the other hand, I saw a guy in a bar not to long ago with a great rig playing the hell out of a standard strat on a Pink Floyd cover and he sounded great! Then the next song was “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC, and my jaw dropped when I heard the tinny, trebly, horrible fake-distorted sound of that strat! There’s just no way that guitar could EVER sound heavy enough for that (or any other) hard-rock based sound.

In addition - I even owned (and paid $900 for) an “official SRV signature” strat from Fender’s custom shop last year. I finally sold it (digusted) a week later, because (while very playable) it just wasn’t versatile enough (sound-wide) for me at the time. Now fast forward to last month, when I was in my local GC, and I checked out 2 or 3 of the HSS (humbucker, single coil, single coil) “fat” strats, both American and Mexican made. I plugged these into a Vox, 3 different Marshalls, a Peavey, a Fender, and a Line 6. I have to say - I wish I would have bought one of these a long time ago…

The HSS or “fat strat” gives you a humbucker in the bridge position, and then 2 single coils. So if you want to belt out Pink Floyd on the neck with chorus and bad-ass delay, great! But you can go “balls-out” in bridge with your AC/DC and Angus impressions no problem! Now, to be sure - I STILL wouldn’t recommend this for death metal or anything (check out the Ibanez ART300 for that), this type of strat is probably the only kind that can handle most types of hard rock. I had forgotten how many of these there were back in the 80’s, and that would probably explain why I hadn’t seen many of them in the store over the years (again) until now. Back in the 80’s in the land of hair metal - these were called “heavy metal strats”, and those are kind of rare to find today.

Here are some great deals on HSS Fat Strats on eBay right now, the retail for a mexican made strat is about $399, and American Made is $799+. You can get great deals both new and used on eBay for these guitars.

US $299.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Monday Sep-08-2008 19:19:14 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $799.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Sep-09-2008 12:22:19 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

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US $1,099.99 End Date: Wednesday Sep-10-2008 11:29:55 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $1,099.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $169.00 End Date: Monday Sep-08-2008 11:22:21 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $169.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $159.00 End Date: Monday Sep-08-2008 13:04:27 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $159.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $125.99 End Date: Monday Sep-08-2008 17:16:45 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $125.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $299.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Monday Sep-08-2008 19:19:14 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Here’s the latest auctions on eBay for “HM” or “Heavy Metal” strats, there are usually under 6 or so for sale at any given time (there are getting rarer by the day).

US $289.95 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Sep-12-2008 17:29:24 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $349.95 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

US $100.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Sunday Sep-14-2008 9:03:25 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

US $299.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Sunday Sep-14-2008 15:41:01 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list

Here’s a live version of “Whole Lotta Rosie” when Bon Scott was still in AC/DC. It’s so incredible to see Angus Young play, because it’s hard to believe that he can play so well why gyrating all over the stage, headbanging, shaking his head, dancing, bouncing all around….he has an incredible on stage prescence. They broke the mold with Angus -he’s sure one of a kind. You can emulate his playing all you want, but it will never sound exactly like him!

Listen to the original full length video of “Cemetary Gates” by Pantera and listen to the incredible range and defining guitar of Dimebag Darrell. He not only had an uncanny sound that was edgy and nearly unduplicatable, but his playing speed combined with the clarity of his runs was incredible. You can tell this is something he worked on for years…

Something you probably haven’t seen is the 1984 11 minute solo from “Diamond Darrell” in his “glam” phase back in the 80’s hair metal bands. You sure can tell who his influences were, since you hear near complete rips at times from both Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen’s live solos. You even hear a bit of Zeppelin. This was definitely at a time when Darrell was still figuring out who we has and defining his sound. He had some incredible speed, and you can see how he molded this into his later Pantera signature sound - this was how he built up those chops.

This video is Pantera playing live in 1992 “Cemetary Gates”, listen to Dimebag’s incredible live version of this solo, incredible!

RIP Dimebag Darrell, your guitar sound helped shape the entire sound of metal for a new genation and pushed guitar to new limits!

Here’s a young guy from France that’s just tearing up his own Hendrix medly on YouTube - on a Tele no less! You can tell he’s playing through a POD or something, ’cause he’s got the perfect Hendrix sound for sure! This medly is very well arranged, and this guy’s got soul to spare - check it out!

This 12 year old guitar player plays “Eruption” and his original song “Break Out”. I don’t know if this is some kind of talent show or what, but it looks like he has a little cheering section to be sure. It’s not perfect, but the the dude was only 12 when this was recorded AND his second song is his original composition - that’s pretty tight! When I was 12 I barely knew how to play the “Yesterday” by the Beatles.

That was pretty good, but this 14 year old has one of the best quality “Eruption” video’s I’ve seen. I’m always impressed when a young guitar player can not only play the notes, but actually emulate some of the sounds with his finger and nuances of the original. In addition to that - I’ve heard a lot of eruption covers in my time, but for his age he’s probably got some of cleanest “Eddie-like” picking I’ve heard. The sound of the guitar is perfect for this as well, I wonder if he’s using a POD or what he’s playing through?