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Over 300 of the worlds leading musical instrument distributers and maufacturers will be packed into Londons ExCeL venue on the 14th and 15th of June to inspire you, the consumer with their latest gear.

London International Music Show is 4 shows in one; London Guitar show, Drummer Live, Unplugged and the Sound Recording & Technoligy show all under one roof and one ticket gets you into all shows.

The show promises all the lastest gear and technology with siminars, conferences and even celebrities of the music world. You can expect to see exhibitors from “Acoustic Guitar Magazine” through to “Yamaha Music UK”, and instruments from xylaphones to bassoons.

On the Live stage you can see Paul gilbert playing on saturday for the London Guitar show, Chad smith will be beating them skins for the Drummer live line-up, and the list goes on….

For updates on the event visit www.londoninternationalmusicshow.com and be sure to not miss the best music event this year.

I’ve been a fan of Tanglewood guitars for many years, as a Tanglewood was the first acoustic guitar I bought. The reason I bought a Tanglewood was simple, I didn’t have a lot of money and and it was by far the best guitar I could get for what little money I had.

Things have not changed much since then and Tanglewood are still producing great guitars from £100 to £2000. The TFC-E at this price range could be described as high end entry level, it’s certainly not as cheap as many but it’s certainly not going to force you into a credit crunch.

Construction wise this guitar has had a lot of care taken to ensure that all the seams and joins are finished professionally. From the top the headstock boasts 6 rather oddly shaped Tanglewood machine heads that are actually wider than standard machine heads allowing more control when tuning. They are smoothly geared and very stable.

The Rosewood fretboard is well crafted with a very forgiving action and the Rosewood itself has some very characterful blonde streaks running the length of the neck.

The Body, as I mentioned before, is clearly constructed with a great deal of care. The Mahogany is seamlessly put together and the semi matt finish brings out the richness in colour.

Sound wise, the first thing that is apparent is the tightness of the sound. The shape of the cut away body produces a far less boomy sound than a standard dreadnought, this is also apparent when plugged in. The shadow preamp does a admirable job of reproducing the guitars tone and is very easy to use. With a simple 3 band EQ, volume and presence, it’s very quick to customise your sound.

This guitar is simply ideal if you wish to make your first foray into the world of electro acoustics, the build quality and wood and great for the price. Not to be missed.

Tanglewood TFC-E Acoustic Guitar: Buy Now at the Best Price

Every now and again in life you’re confronted by something that’s just down right bamboozling. On removing the protective sleeve of the Ibanez EWC30ASE-RLG, I was bamboozled. As someone who primarily plays electric guitar and also someone who goes a bit wibbly at the site of natural finishes on exotic wood, this guitar is bang on the money.

First impressions of the Ibanez EWC30ASE-RLG are quite simply ‘woah, check out the wood!’. The body and top of the guitar are crafted from figured Figured Ash and a lot of care has been taken to make sure the two pieces of ash that make up the top are symetrical, which results in a slightly hypnotic butterfly wing effect. The neck has a very shallow profile more like an Ibanez electric, which makes it ideal for the player who is primarily an electric player. The fretboard sports nicely rounded and well seated frets with a tastefully twiddly inlay and the machine heads have a very smooth action and keep the guitar in tune very well.

Plugged in the guitars B Band Preamp does a fine job of producing the very sweet sound that’s produced by the small body, it’s a very tight sound with surprisingly smooth low end. when you need a quick tune up the preamp features a very responsive but not jittery tuner, with a very clear display. perfect for low light gigs.

All of this is would be fare enough, however, the bamboozlment came when I discovered the price. Available for as little as £214 this guitar is entering the price level of ‘budget guitar’ but I assure you this is not the case. This guitar is a seamlessly crafted chunk of lovely wood with a fantastic sound with a professional quality preamp…. get one now!

EWC30ASE-RLG Ibanez Exotic Wood Series Acoustic Guitar

The Registry of Guitar Tutors has released news of their new qualification specifically for the acoustic guitar. There has historically been qualifications for classical guitar and for the electric guitar, but the acoustic guitar has never had its own specialist qualification.

A classical guitar although similar to an acoustic guitar in the sense that it is a hollow body wooden contruction and makes its sounds acoustically, the type of strings used and the neck profile of a classical make it a very different thing to play. Likewise, an electric guitar is similar to an acoustic guitar in that it uses steel strings and shares a similar neck profile. The way it generates it sounds is completely different though and allows for another completely different style of playing.

These new acoustic guitar exams will focus on specific acoustic guitar techniques such as finger picking and strumming.

The exams are certificated by London College of Music Exams and Thames Valley University and have been accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and placed on the National Qualifications Framework. This gives specific grades direct equivalence to GCSEs and A levels and enables them to accumulate the UCAS points necessary for admission to higher education. Two entry-level exams have also been designed for children and novice players.

The exams will be available from April 2008. Students can enter online at the RGT website, where a free, downloadable exam information booklet detailing requirements for every grade is available.

Related Blogs:
how to buy your first acoustic guitar
some facts regarding acoustic guitar chords
a great time
how to play acoustic guitar
klamath river

The January Sale is NOW ON!!
Check out the specials page to see our latest time limited special offers. We have a great range of guitars and other musical instruments, equipment and loads more.

You can view the January Sale items in the normal PlayRecord.Net view, or if you prefer then viewing as a list is a nice way to quickly scan for offers you would be interested in.

Click Here to go to the Sale Page

The last day that we can despatch things in time for Christmas is this Friday 21st of December. There is still time for last minute shoppers to get their Christmas presents in time!!

Search in this box to find items that can be delivered in time for Christmas:

Alternatively give us a call on 0844 8844 765 and we can recommend something that can be delivered in time for Christmas.

Christmas can be a pretty stressful time. We all know this and despite our best efforts at keeping up the Christmas Spirit sometimes the hassle of Christmas shopping can be a strain. However, we are here to help you!

While we try to offer as much of our catalogue on a next day basis as possible, there are some items which take us more like a week to despatch. These items are marked as delivery estimate 3-10 days.

If you are looking to purchase something for Christmas that is showing as this delivery estimate, this still shoudl not be a problem. If time is a bit tight though, we recommend getting in touch on the phone to double check the delivery time frame and maybe see if there is an alternative item that we could get to you sooner.

Our last despatch day for Christmas is friday the 21st of December.

Our search system lets you filter results for in stock only items. These are items which according to our stock system we have plenty of stock of and are therefore a safe bet for next day delivery.

Here are some popular searches:

Guitar Stands

Guitar

Electric Guitar

Acoustic Guitar

Bass Guitar

Classical Guitar

Left Handed

Tanglewood

Fender

Ibanez

Dean

Pearl

Drum

Bass

Yamaha

This time of year we find that we are definitely selling more guitars to people who are buying for someone else than buying for themselves. We think that buying a guitar for someone else as a surprise Christmas present is a brilliant idea, but to get the best effect, you need to make sure you are buying the right kind of guitar.

The two things you need to decide when buying a guitar as a christmas present are:

1. What type of guitar?
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Classical Guitar or Bass Guitar. There are some other kinds of guitar including Electro Acoustic Guitars, which is really an acoustic guitar with some electronics added and Semi Acoustic Guitars which are effectively an electric guitar with a hollow body, making it a bit like an Acoustic Guitar.

For someone who already has a guitar, it makes sense to get a different kind of guitar so that they will enjoy a different guitar playing experience. So if the person you are buying a guitar for currently has an electric guitar, we would recommend getting an acoustic guitar and vice versa.

If you are buying someone their first guitar, then we recommend going for one of the great guitar packages available.

2. What kind of budget do you want to spend?
This really is up to you. We recommend getting an idea of budget though before you start trying to make your choice of guitar as it is a great way of cutting down the options so that you are not overwhelmed with choice. Generally anything over £100 will get a nice playing guitar these days. However if you think they are worth it, spending more will definitely mean a much nicer guitar.

Once you have decided which type of guitar and what kind of budget you want to spend, the final decision simply involves having a look through our range of guitars and picking out right one, based on the colour and style that you think they will appreciate the most.

If you need any help at all at any step of the way, our team of professional guitar salespeople will happily give you some pointers. Simply give us a call on 0844 8844 765 or email us using our contact form with your queries and we will get back to you as quickly as possible with our recommendations. It would help us out if you could have some idea of the budget and type of guitar you are looking for first, so that we can narrow down the options for you and get straight to the right guitar Christmas present for the person you are buying for.

Blogs about Christmas Guitar
blog.musicnotes.com
Musicnotes.com Blog: One More Christmas Guitar Guru Song

headrush.typepad.com
Creating Passionate Users: What I want for Christmas

www.guitarist.co.uk
Guitarist

Born on the 30th of March, 1945, Eric Patrick Clapton was the son of 16 year old Patricia Molly Clapton and Edward Walter Fryer, a 24 year old Canadian soldier stationed in England during the second world war. Before Eric was born, Fryer returned to Canada and his wife.

Eric’s grandmother played piano and his uncle and mother both enjoyed listening to the sounds of the big bands. His father had been a gifted musician, playing piano in several dance bands in the Surrey area.

For his thirteenth birthday, Erica as for a guitar. He found his first one difficult to play and put it aside. Then when he was sixteen he went to the Kingston College of Art. He was expelled after a year for lack of progress due to the fact the he spent his time playing guitar and listening to the blues.

In early 1963, 17 year-old Eric joined his first band, The Roosters. Following the band’s demise in August 1963, he spent one month in the pop-oriented Casey Jones and The Engineers. Before turning to music as a full-time career, he supported himself as a laborer at building sites, working alongside his grandfather, a master bricklayer and plasterer.

In October 1963, Keith Relf and Paul Samwell-Smith recruited him to become a member of The Yardbirds because Clapton was the most talked about guitar player on the R&B pub circuit. During his 18-month tenure with The Yardbirds, he earned his nickname, Slowhand, and recorded his first albums: Five Live Yardbirds and Sonny Boy Williamson and The Yardbirds.

In April 1965, John Mayall invited Eric to join his band, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. With this group, Clapton established his reputation as a guitarist and earned his second nickname: “God”. It came from an admirer’s graffiti on the wall of London’s Islington Tube Station that boldly proclaimed “Clapton is God.”

Eric’s time with the band was turbulent and he left for a while to tour Greece with friends. Upon his return from Greece, Eric rejoined the Bluesbreakers. It was during this time that the now classic Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton was recorded. While with the Bluesbreakers, Eric also recorded a one-off four-track session with a band dubbed “The Powerhouse”. This studio band included John Paul Jones, Steve Winwood and Jack Bruce.

After leaving the Bluesbreakers for a second and final time in July 1966, Eric teamed up with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker to form Cream.

Following Cream’s break-up, Clapton founded Blind Faith - rock’s first “supergroup” - with Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker, and Rick Grech. Disbanding after one album and a disastrous American tour, Eric tried to hide from his growing fame by touring as a sideman with Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. While with this outfit, Eric was encouraged to sing by Delaney Bramlett. He also began composing more. A live album from the Delaney & Bonnie tour was released in 1970. Clapton’s self-titled debut was released that same year.

Eric went through further musical transformations, survived a three year heroin addicition and came back to win a Grammy in 1992 for the single “Tears in Heaven”.

One of Eric’s biggest influences is Robert Johnson. In his book “Discovering Robert Johnson”, Eric wrote “Robert Johnson to me is the most important blues musician who ever lived. He was true, absolutely, to his own vision, and as deep as I have gotten into the music over the last 30 years, I have never found anything more deeply soulful than Robert Johnson. His music remains the most powerful cry than I think you can find in the human voice, really. … it seemed to echo something I had always felt.”.

Blogs about Eric Clapton:

flash.popphoto.com
PopPhoto Flash: Money Can’t Buy Everything

revolution30.blogsome.com
Ken Leebow’s Business Card for the 21st Century :: CBS Sunday Morning News Interviews Eric Clapton :: November :: 2006

www.consolatio.com
Sedulia on Grief: Eric Clapton: The terrible numbness that I lived in

www.mediafuturist.com
MediaFuturist: Is this REALLY Eric Clapton playing (stretching the boundaries of fair use)

mavrixonline.com
mavrixonline.com: John Mayer Plays with Blues Legend Eric Clapton

playguitar.blogsome.com
Play Guitar :: DVD Review: Eric Clapton - Live At Montreux 1986 :: September :: 2006

Jimmy Page, guitarist of iconic band Led Zeppelin is cursing the fractured finger that has forced their long awaited reunion concert to be postponed. Apparently he tripped over a stone in the garden and came down a bit too hard and the pinky took some damage.

Led Zeppelin were due to have their first concert in 19 years after their split in 1980 at London\’s 02 Arena on the 26th of November. This has now been pushed back to December.

Jimmy Page said:

\”I didn\’t just come down on my hand, I came down on other parts of my body as well. But of course it was the hand that had a bit of an injury to it,\”

\”It\’s got a fracture in the little finger of the left hand, which is a nuisance because it\’s really needed. It\’s just going to take a little while for it to heal, that\’s all.\”

\”It\’s not permanent damage. I\’ve broken fingers before, a lot worse than this.\”

However Page is totally confident that they will manage to do the December gig:

\”We\’ll make the gig all right and we\’ll do all the rehearsals too. It\’s just going to need like two, two and a half weeks\”.

Jimmy went on to confirm that fans will be getting what they come for at the upcoming gig:

\”It\’s pretty much a lot of the songs that people would want to hear. We just got together and started playing and it started to take on its own shape, if you like,\” he said.

\”It\’s probably what you\’d want to hear, and what we want to play too, so that\’s a great, great chemistry.\”

Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin has said that he wants this to be \”one last, great show\” and insists it will not be followed by a tour.

Led Zeppelin split in 1980 following the death of drummer John Bonham, who choked on his own vomit following a drinking binge.

More than one million people applied for the 20,000 tickets after the reunion gig was announced.

The concert is a tribute to Ahmet Ertegun, the late founder of the Atlantic Records label, who signed the group in 1968.

Plant, Page and bassist John Paul Jones, with Bonham\’s son Jason on drums, will headline the gig.

Led Zeppelin have sold more than 300 million albums worldwide and the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

Blogs About Led Zeppelin:

Indie Blog Heaven
On the heels of Jimmy Page hurting his finger, thus having to cancel Led Zeppelin’s reunion show, NME have came up with a nice list of other odd rock injuries.

Blogovich
“When they unite, you’ve got the key members,” Page told Sun Media (Canada) the other day. “You can’t play it any better, as they’re the people who actually played it and wrote it in the first place . . . ”

Sound and Vision
The Legendary Band’s Original Albums Available for the First Time at All Online Music Retailers November 13

One Way Street
As someone who grew up with the band’s music, I have a primer for you kids looking to buy some Led Zep on iTunes.