With a strong focus on the Australian music scene, Australian Guitar is a rich source of information on playing techniques, styles, the wide range of instruments available and all the technology that guitarists have to consider in the 21st Century.
PANTERA MONSTER BOX SET GIVEAWAY! HEY GUITAR PLAYERS, YOU KNOW WHAT RULES? PANTERA. IT’S PROVEN BY SCIENCE, ACTUALLY. THE LATE GREAT DIMEBAG DARRELL’S INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO HEAVY METAL PLAYING CHANGED THE WAY AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF SHREDDERS ATTACK THE GUITAR, AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CURRENT ARMS RACE THAT SEES US ALL CALLING OUT FOR “MORE GAIN!” To celebrate Pantera’s raucous legacy, Rhino is releasing a new box set, entitled The Complete Studio Albums 1990-2000. The release compiles Cowboys From Hell (1990), Vulgar Display Of Power (1992), Far Beyond Driven (1994), The Great Southern Trendkill (1996), and Reinventing The Steel (2000). It’s a five-disc rampage that any self-respecting metalhead must have in their car at all times, should the urge for a spontaneous headbang overcome them. Thanks to our pals…
A VIDEO INTERVIEW WITH LUKE O’SHEA Luke O’Shea has grown into being one of Australia’s most respected country singer songwriters. Renowned for his storytelling and powerful live shows, multi award winner Luke O’Shea, along with his band Medicine Wheel, have a unique, yet classic Australian sound. As a guitarist/songwriter he draws inspiration from the unique and everyday characters he meets. Spending his 20s eating up the world in what he describes as his ‘”glorious wasted years”, Luke absorbed universal themes and personal stories that resonate deep within all human DNA. After many years and countless miles Luke O’Shea is now an enthralling live performer and award winning Australian storyteller winning a Golden Guitar at Tamworth in 2015. In January 2016, 15 years after the release of his debut set No…
MIDI BASICS IN MUSIC PRODUCTION MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) is an extremely useful tool in the realm of music production. Virtual studio technology (VST) has made it quite easy to create musical ideas and express them without necessarily having to own a myriad of instruments that would normally take up space, not to mention drain your bank balance. When using a MIDI controller (keyboard), you are not actually recording musical notes, but rather performance data is transmitted through the device, and captured. This data will not play back as music unless there is a virtual instrument (VSTi) assigned, therefore playing back the recorded data as a sound that has been selected by the user. With the data in place, a multitude of sounds can be auditioned until the right…
A private collector has made a major investment in the future of Australian music, donating 130 rare and beautiful guitars to the University of Tasmania’s Conservatorium of Music. The Tasmanian donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has made it clear: the instruments should be played. The Conservatorium’s Deputy Head of Music and Head of Contemporary Guitar, Dr Glen Hodges, is overseeing the formal evaluation and cataloguing of the collection. “This gift is unique in my experience and is extremely generous given the quality of the instruments and the fact that the donor had been accruing the collection for many years,” Dr Hodges said. “There are a number of items that are quite unique, such as a 1920’s Harmony Parlour guitar, a circa 1885 Reliance 5 string banjo, and Guild Finesses,…
CURRENTLY PLAYING WITH: Caligula’s Horse USUALLY FOUND PLAYING: The hardest bits of my band’s music, or whatever section I fluffed at the last show! We tour a lot so I don’t get much time to learn and play other people’s music like I did when I was younger, instead my time is prioritized towards making sure I don’t make a fool of myself at the next gig! YEARS ON THE FRETBOARD: I grew up surrounded by guitars and guitarists, and I’d always dabbled to some degree. I’ve been a “practicing” guitarist for perhaps 15 years. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PLAYING STYLE? There’s a fairly wide divide between my approach as a songwriter and as a lead guitarist. The former is all about harmony and coherency: I consider my guitar…
PEOPLE ARE CHASING: Over the past 18 months, there’s been a noticeable surge in pricing and demand for Acoustic Control Corporation guitar and bass amps. Now, just so we’re clear (and just in case a brand name like “Acoustic” isn’t confusing enough on its own), the amps we’re referring to here are the original ones built by the Acoustic Control Corporation from the late ‘60s through to the mid-‘80s. In modern times, there are two other iterations of the company. One is a line of low to mid range amplifiers built in China and sold through US retail giant Guitar Centre, who bought the rights to the brand name back in 2007. We won’t go into too much detail on these amps here, but suffice to say, they bear little…
