Looking for the best guitar player gift money can buy? You’ve come to the right place. I can’t count the number of completely worthless gifts I’ve gotten over the years. Beatles calendars, Green Day sweatbands, Greatest Hits of the 80’s 4 CD set? Any of these sound familiar? They should, because they were all crummy gifts I’ve been given. If you know someone that plays guitar, I can’t really think of a better gift to give than a Guitar Center Gear Card!

I’ve been give a gear card several times before, and they’re great because you can buy what you want at home online and have it shipped right to your door - or walk right into Guitar Center and pick out what you want. Sometimes online you can find a “web only deal” or a Guitar Center “coupon code” to save even more money. I used mine to stock up on strings and picks, and another time I bought myself a new stompbox and strap. Maybe if you put enough on your guitar players card before you give it to him - he/she will have enough to buy a new guitar!

I’m going to put a few eBay auctions here for you to come back and watch, because sometimes you can find unwanted gift cards in an auction for pennies on the dollar!

There are a lot of weird guitars out there, but I’d never heard of this “Warr guitar”. I’m not for sure, but I counted like 14 strings on this thing with double pickups! That’s two seven string guitars side by side! Look at the guitar strap when he plays it, it’s so heavy that you use two straps, and one loops around each arm. The Warr guitar has a MASSIVE fingerboard! You play it by tapping, two handed Stanley Jordan style. It seems like it would just take forever to learn how to play this thing. And what’s up with the dude playing it? It looks like some kind of crazy piercing through the bottom of his now!

Tony Melendez is known as the guy with no arms who played for the pope back in 1989. Warning - this video gets a bit preachy at times, but it’s incredible to watch him play. I can’t imagine how long it took to master strumming the strings, let alone fretting the notes with his toes.

This video is of Mike Goffeney who also has no arms and plays with his feet. This video is from 2003, he has a band now “Big Toe”, and then were actually in that “America’s Next Greatest Band” competition a few months back (they didn’t win). There’s a couple vids of him on YouTube singing on the street. He not only strums the notes, but plays a bit of mock lead every now and then, sings, and slaps the guitar with his feet for some of the drum parts. Quite a talent, some guys can’t even play and sing the guitar normally - this guy does it with no arms!

Here’s a video you won’t expect, it’s an 8 year old guitar god! You think I’m joking, and I have a lot of child guitar prodigy video to feature this week and next, but this is probably the “best of the best” I’ve seen at that age. Anton Oparin is from Russia, in a guitar competition in 2004 ” Guitar Masters - Greatest Shredders Compilation”. That means he’s 13 years old now. Listen to the solo he does, the runs are sooooo smooth, and sweep picking from hell - in and out of modes. What his fingers, I never - ever had that kind of speed, dexterity, and accurate picking (at any age). I’ve seen lots of Paul Gilbert video, and I actually think (technically) this kid is better…I sure as hell hope he won that competition.

A Baby playing Metallica on guitar? It can’t be true…but it is! You find some really crazy stuff on YouTube, and this baby playing Metallica’s “Sad But True” is truly hilarious! What instrument could you play when you were that old?

That may have been real funny, but check this out - this eight year old plays the intro to Metallica’s “One” on electric guitar. Could you play anything on guitar when you were 8 years old? I’m always impressed by young musicians and what they can do, because imagine how he’ll be tearing it up by the time that he’s 16 years old? With YouTube, and computers, and free online lessons and video the next generation of shredders should be incredible!

I was a child of the 80’s so hair metal was my thing. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate all the guitar slingers I heard during that time. The first time I really got into Gary Moore was during his “Still got the Blues” phase mid-80’s. It was that album that gave him widespread mainstream top 40 success with the hit single “still got the blues”. This ones for the ladies!

I didn’t know it at the time, but Gary Moore wasn’t some kind of overnight sensation, he had many albums and critical acclaim well before “Still got the blues”. One of the songs he was known for was “Parisienne Walkways” - which in this video he plays with Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy. You can see how old this video is from Phil’s massive afro and also that crazy Michael Jackson leather outfit Gary’s wearing. In this video Gary defines the meaning of the word “sustain”. Watch how incredibly long he stays on one note in the middle of the song.

With complete proof that “Gary Moore still has it” this video from 2004’s “50th anniversary of the strat” dvd showcases the incredible guitar skills he has. This is maybe the single “best performance of Red House” I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen dozens and dozens). It’s so emotional and dead on. When you watch Gary Moore play guitar he’s like the “Joe Cocker” of the guitar. He has a completely straight face when he sings, and seconds later while bending a note his face looks like he’s getting a colonoscopy.

I’ll leave you with the first single from the “Still Got the Blues” album which is “Oh Pretty Woman”. This is the original video, which was actually on MTV. Listen to the blisteringly fast blues runs and incredible solo sections of this song. Gary was one of the first “blues shredders” that I ever knew of. I still love to hear his playing to this day.

You can find all kinds of great deals on Gary Moore merchandise, like used and new CD’s, DVD’s - and all kinds of imports you can’t seem to get anywhere else at all.

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Whether taken to a stadium concert or your local bar, the zoom h2 personal handheld recorder records quality mp3 surround sound every time!

I saw the “Zoom H2 Handheld Recorder” for the first time on the G4 network last week. I knew that there were quality handheld recorders available for reasonable prices, but I had no idea you could get this kind of quality for around $200 or less! Are you in an original over “cover band”? When you go to book the gigs what’s the first thing the bar owner wants? A demo! Most bands don’t have any decent way to record their audio to make a demo. There are very few options and most are bad. You could record something off your cell phone (pretty bad idea). Maybe your digital camera takes pretty good good video, but wait - the audio is distorted or in “mono” (cheap small condenser mic). You could try and and “mic” everything, run it through a board and mix it down to something that will record it. Most of the times you’ll not have the right equipment or sound man to pull this off. Like my band - what you will be left with is rotten crappy demos!

The Zoom H2 records awesome audio because it has thing no other portable recorder has - “4 portable mic capsules”. This allows 360 degree recording. What does this mean? Well…it means you can affordable record an actual “surround sound” recording of your band performance. You could do it in your practice space - or just as easily record live in the bar, pub, or club! You can direct record in WAV or MP3 in up to 320kbps bitrates.

The audio is recorded on SD secure digital flash media cards - you could record up to a staggering 138 hours in mp3 format! It comes with a short tripod stand, it will accept up to 4GB flash cards, a low-cut filter eliminates wind noise, it connects to your usb or mac via usb cable…oh - and I mention it has a build in chromatic guitar and bass tuner?

This handheld recorder gadget is perfect for recording band audio, but imagine all the other possibilities it has! Interviews, conferences, seminars, notes in class, songwriting, podcasts, rehearsals - you name it! Take it to see Bill and the Beaters at the local bar or record Zeppelin at the stadium the next time they come around. Mine is on order - is yours? Check prices below, and after that I’ve listed the lastest eBay auctions ending soonest. If you’re in the market for one of these you can check back daily for the lastest eBay auctions and deals - just bookmark this page!

Zoom H2 Portable Handy Recorder * Comes with a mic clip adapter, tripod stand, USB cable, an AC Adapter and a 512MB SD card * Mid-side mic patterns with 3 mic capsules and signal processing allows front 120-degree cardioid, front 90-degree supercardioid, rear 120-degree cardioid, rear 90-degree supercardioid and 360-degree polar patterns * Built-in USB 2.0 interface for data storage and audio interface * Records in WAV 96kHz/48kHz/44.1kHz at 16-Bit or 24-bit, MP3 to 320kbps and Variable Bit Rate (VBR) data formats * Time Stamp and Track Marker functions in Broadcast WAV Format (BWF) * 512MB SD memory card included; Accommodates up to 4GB SD optional memory cards * Auto Gain Control (AGC) for pristine recordings * Auto Start function means you’re always ready to record * Low-cut filter eliminates wind noise * On-board chromatic Guitar/Bass tuner * Two standard alkaline AA Batteries will give you 4 hours of continuous operation and a Backlit display means it’s always easy to use in any situation * Weighs only 4 ounces

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Today is a very sad day for guitarist as we lay another of our own to rest. Jeff Healey who had been battling cancer for most of his life died at age 41. Jeff meant a great deal to me since he’s only two years older, and I can remember first hearing of him just a few years out of high school. At the time he was unique because he could rip up that fretboard with the best master bluesman. I can remember hearing his first single on the radio “Confidence Man” -and it was just unbelieveable! Here is that original video I saw on MTV, actually later in that week after I heard it on the radio many times:

It wasn’t until after I saw that video that I realized not only he was blind, but what he played the guitar laying flat on his lap! That just floored every single guitar playing friend I had - none of us could believe it! Here’s Jeff Healey playing his the top 40 hit that made him famous with so many women worldwide:

Our band actually plays Angel Eyes when we play out, it’s always one of the favorite slow songs we do. Next, this video isn’t the greatest quality - but it’s one of my favorites nonetheless, it’s Jeff Healey playing with Stevie Ray Vaughan “Look at Little Sister”:

Jeff Healey - we will miss you! Your music will live on through many generations of guitarists!

I’ve never heard of Tommy Emmanuel before this video, but his name I won’ soon forget now. He’s plays a stunning version of Arthur Smith’s “Guitar Boogie” like I’ve never seen. He plays his acoustic as if it were an electric - and I’ve not seen someone shred up an acoustic guitar in this fashion before. He’s double picking and up and down the neck, practically giving a master class on the guitar as he plays! I’ll definitely be finding some more videos of this guy!

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Now playing: Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble - Tin Pan Alley (aka Roughest Place In Town) (Live)
via FoxyTunes

This Guitar Video with Andy McKee is an incredible performance, and it reminds me a bit of another guitarist who was one of my favorites (and that I should also feaure) - “Stanley Jordan”. Although Andy McKee plays acoustic - and Stanley Jordan plays electric. Andy uses a unique two handed approach on the acoustic guitar to not only play it as if it were a piano, but he uses his left hand to syncopate the rhythm alternate the melodies - kind of using the guitar like a drum / and or a bass all at once. His rolling chord changes and use or harmonics - this is a definite “must watch” video for any guitarist!