No, this isn’t a competition for the Guitar Hero video game. We’re talking about real guitars in a competition at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco that is to be judged by six celebrity judges, i.e. Joe Satriani, Steve Lukather, Ritchie Kotzen, Rafael Moreira, Shredmistress Rynata and Steve Read.

The 10 finalists are:

• David Powers (Brewster, New York)
• Sergei Roudzinski (Russia)
• Patrick Woods (Winona Lake, Indiana)
• Joe Cefalu (Boise, Idaho)
• Ed DeGenaro (Seattle, Washington)
• Trey Alexander (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
• Josh Karickhoff (New York, New York)
• Anton Tsygankov (St. Peters, Missouri)
• Ron LoCurto (Kenmore, New York)
• Nathan Hahn, (Waxahachie, Texas)

If you’re interested in watching the event, you might want to book tickets online.

[News via Guitar Player]

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(Source: GuitarGearHeads)

As a diversion from the ornate guitar-track into a more natural style, the Samick Remington OM13-CE does a great job. At least, according to GuitarGearHeads in their review of the acoustic guitar.

Construction was deemed solid, with clear tones and balanced sound – though only for light and medium strumming. Like most orchestra model guitars, higher tones were overly accentuated during aggressive strumming.

Overall, the sub-US$500 cedar top guitar was touted as a “great intermediate guitar”, and was awarded GGH’s Rig Ready and Approved Awards for 2006.

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(Source: JetSlide)

You might think only older and established things can be masterworks. But after reading this review on the new Alvarez Masterworks MD350C acoustic guitar, I’m certain you’ll be cleared of that misconception.

Well, with a recommended price of US$1699, I guess quality would have been expected, but even for guitars in this price range, the MD350C seemed to have performed admirably.

It may not be a guitar for a beginner whose passion for guitars has yet to be confirmed, but if you’re an experienced amateur or professional, I’m certain GuitarGearHeads’ final verdict with take you to the store:

The MD350C was a pure pleasure to review. I really enjoy playing this guitar and I will be adding it to my own personal guitar arsenal. Because of this, I award the MD350C the 2006 Rig Ready Award as well as the 2006 Guitar Gear Heads Approved award.

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(Source: JetSlide)

Two months back, the guys over at GuitarGearHeads got a chance to review one of the cooler guitar innovations this year, the JetSlide guitar slide. Unlike conventional guitar slides, this one doesn’t impede normal chord playing.

When you reach a portion of a song where a slide is required, you can easily “flip the slide into place” and you can reverse this when you don’t need it. Moreover, it seems that the thin bar on the JetSlide provides more control than normal guitar slides, and thus more accuracy.

Overall, the ~US$20 slide got lavish praise, with the reviewer concluding that, “The JetSlide™ has become my slide of choice and I am looking forward to becoming a more skilled and competent slide guitar player. My only suggestion would be to figure out how to fit a piece of glass to the ring – then JetSlide™ would own my whole slide arsenal!”

P.S.: There are currently two variants of the slide. One is made of brass, while the other is made of stainless steel.

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(Source: Amazon)

There’s now one, or more accurately, four more reasons to get an Epiphone Les Paul Studio or Les Paul 100 electric guitar. According to a recent news release, Epiphone will give out an Electric Essentials Pack free with any one of the two guitars, from August 1st to September 30th this year.

The pack will contain a premium 20′ cable, a nylon guitar strap, a 12-pack of picks and a Masterbilt acoustic video. Admittedly, these are nothing to die for, but they are free.

P.S.: I wonder whether they’ll be giving out this pack to those who win a Les Paul through their recent sweepstakes.

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(Source: IGN)

Yeah, you’re not dreaming. Rhythm-action gaming with Guitar Hero just got to a whole new level with the TAC Freedom V Guitar Hero wireless controller. Did we mention “wireless”? Okay, maybe that’s just too much hype, but the controller did get a clear thumbs up from the guys over at IGN.

I’m not surprised. Who wouldn’t want to jump, spin, whirl, and swing your guitar “once in a while”, eh? It’s a pity, however, that the included guitar strap is pretty flimsy, so your big stage fantasies will have to be toned down.

Overall, IGN says that, “While purists among the editors preferred the clicking strummer and deeper keys they have grown accustomed to with the standard Mini SG, few could deny that the wireless freedom of the *TAC Freedom V was an exciting new feature. Jumping, spinning, and general metal-insanity took on new levels of awesomeness while we went head to head in Guitar Hero with the new controllers. With an MSRP of $49.99, the The Ant Commando’s Freedom V is a viable and expansionary alternative to the standard Guitar Hero Mini SG for a second controller, or for a complete wireless solution.”

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(Source: Musician’s Friend)

Acoustic-electric bass guitars are a tough nut to crack here at GuPiano due to the crazy number of categories they fall under. Yep, you’ll see this Rogue AB-304 categorised under acoustic guitars, electrics and even bass guitars. But the worst part of the whole thing is that the displeasure doesn’t stop with categorisation.

It’s reviewer over at Ultimate-Guitar.com goes so far to say that, “If it were to get stolen or lost I wouldn’t buy this bass again. I love how beautiful it looks but I hate how you can barely hear it without an amp and how touchy it is.” It’s a pity though, because with die-cast machine heads, piezo pickup and volume control, abalone rosette, top binding, plus mahogany sides, back and neck, the AB-304 looks like a pretty solid bass.

Overall, this Korean-made guitar scores a measely 5.8 out of 10 for its overall rating – though for features, it does get a more respectable 7 out of 10.

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