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Monthly Archive for June, 2008

History of the Jackson Warrior Electric Guitar

by Vincent Roarden

At the start of the 1990s, Jackson Guitars were famous all across the world with their superstat design copied by virtually all other guitar manufacturers like Kramer, Gibson, Ibanez and B.C. Rich.

You may be surprised to know that the original founder of Jackson Guitar didn’t design the famous Warrior Guitar. Instead, Grover Jackson left the company in 1989 and it was a man named Mikey Wright who was left to design the new and creative Warrior. The new design was radically different to the superstrat design which had made Jackson Guitar famous and therefore was a risky adventure.

The Jackson Warrior was released in 1990 and it was an aggressive and obnoxious design. Vastly different to the well known Dinky and Soloist, it had 5 points - 4 on the body and 1 on the headstock - giving it a very Warrior look and hence its name.

There were two types of Warrior produced. Both the Warrior and Warrior Pro were the same except that the Pro was made in Japan and the plain Warrior was produced in America.

The Pro model came in the following colors: Candy Blue , Snow White Pearl, Ferrari Red, Midnight Black and Pearl Yellow. The USA models offered a bigger options base: Pearl White, Fire Crackle, Snow White, Midnight Black, Candy Red, Metallic Black, Eerie Dess Swirl, Pearl Yellow, Tie Die, Ferrari Red and Metallic Electric Blue.

In 2001, a decade since the original Warrior was produced, Jackson re-released the Warrior model. They retail for about $1,200.

The overseas made Warrior retail for about $400 and are simple bolt on models with a wide range of pickups. The USA made Warrior is more expensive, reflecting the Duncan pickups, Floyd Rose tremolos and other superior qualities. The US model however, doesn’t have the active circuitry, slanted fingerboard and pickup as the previous models did.

These new Warrior are of excellent quality. Even though there has been some small changes to the original design, the US models are competitive with the original Warrior models.

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How To Find legal Zune music downloads

by Daniel Lincoln

A quick look at the search engine searches reveals that many are searching for “legal Zune music downloads”. Zune is different from other popular portable media devices. There are no DRM download requirements. DRM is the acronym for digital rights management which is the copyright information which is embedded on MP3s. This encoding prevents downloaders from sharing their songs. Because of this uniqueness offered by Zune, you can freely download Zune music legally.

Zune Marketplace

Zune Marketplace is like the iTunes of iPod. But don’t be confused. Playing iTunes songs on your Zune player can be a little challenging. iTunes mp3s are not compatible with a Zune device because of the embedded DRM. So, the safest way is to download a song from Zune Marketplace. The Marketplace has most of the songs available on iTunes since Microsoft, the manufacturer of Zune, has partnered with America’s biggest recording labels: Sony BMG, EMI, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group.

Zune Marketplace is a subscription based service, which means you need to sign up and pay for the songs you are going to download. Like iTunes store, however, you can also find free legal Zune music downloads. These free songs are recorded by independent artists.

Premium MP3 Download Sites

These websites are neither connected with any media device manufacturers nor with recording labels. Premium mp3 websites are online retailers that offer mp3 downloads on either a subscription free or a per download basis. Most of these websites offer a free 30-day trial with limited number of downloads. You can try out the service for one month, and on the first day after the 30th, you will then be charged for every download you make.

The songs offered on the websites are legal and you can search and find any song title easily using their download manager. Organize the songs neatly in your library and sync it with your player. But one thing you need to ensure is that the files are all compatible with your Zune.

Online Streaming Radio Stations

Another great source of legal Zune music downloads are the online streaming radio stations. From the pop-up players, you will be able to see the song title and artist name. If you like what you are listening to, you can always follow the link to the download site. These radio stations have long standing business relationship with the major record labels and smaller independent labels so you should be able to find some really good music.

What about using free sites to get Zune music downloads? My advice is to avoid those totally free sites. Essentially, they earn their money by offering adware and spyware laden client applications to users. You get free music, while they get to flash those persistent and irritating commercial ad pop-ups, pop-overs, pop-unders before you. Worse still, if you are not careful, viruses will make their way to your computer. So, do spend a little money and enjoy your peace of mind downloading legal Zune music downloads today instead.

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easy acoustic guitar tabs

by paul green

Guitar music has its own musical notation. The standard musician’s notation of staffs, notes, note values, ledger lines, key signatures and time signatures is replaced with a simpler, operational type of notation, called a tab. Even if you do not know how to read music, you can learn how to play guitar with the acoustic guitar tabs. Many stringed instruments use tabs or tablatures.

The form of musical notation specific to the guitar is acoustic guitar tabs, or tablature. Each chord is notated with one tab, a small chart of the guitar strings themselves. The string at the top of the diagram is the one furthest from your body as you hold the guitar. Each string will show a number, which is the fret you should hold to create that chord. If you see a zero, that means an open string. An X means that string should be muffled.

In case you don’t know what a fret is, it’s the space between two of the metal bars on the long “neck” of your guitar. Most acoustic guitars have from 21 to 24 of these frets. Their dots are just there to help you in positioning your fingers.

Take a look at the acoustic guitar tab and if all of the numbers are listed one after the other and all on one line, the numbers indicate the fret to use on that string; only pluck that particular string. Numbers that are noted one after the other indicate that you play one note at a time. If there is a number on each line and the numbers are stacked, one on top of the other; then the acoustic guitar tab is saying play all the notes simultaneously, in other words, strumming all six strings.

When reading acoustic guitar tabs, you may come across things like, hammer-on, pull-offs, bends and slides. A hammer-on may be represented by something such as “7h9,” with the “h” being the notation for the hammer-on. A pull-off would be noted in the same way, with a “p” instead of an “h.” A bend is noted by a simple “b” and a slide would be represented by a “/.”

When you’re able to read acoustic guitar tabs, look for simple guitar tabs online. Find a melody that you recognize, and experiment with it. Though it might take a while for you to feel fully comfortable reading and playing acoustic guitar tabs, you’ll feel a great sense of accomplishment when everything falls into place.

You’ll pick up a tune much more quickly if you can also listen to it while you’re trying to learn it. You get more detail and an added feel for the beat, even with a song you think you know by heart. Acoustic guitar tabs make learning more enjoyable, and it won’t take long to have a small repertoire you can trot out at parties or just jam around with in the privacy of your own home.

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What Are Acoustic Guitar Tabs

by paul green

Guitar music has its own musical notation. The standard musician’s notation of staffs, notes, note values, ledger lines, key signatures and time signatures is replaced with a simpler, operational type of notation, called a tab. Even if you do not know how to read music, you can learn how to play guitar with the acoustic guitar tabs. Many stringed instruments use tabs or tablatures.

The form of musical notation specific to the guitar is acoustic guitar tabs, or tablature. Each chord is notated with one tab, a small chart of the guitar strings themselves. The string at the top of the diagram is the one furthest from your body as you hold the guitar. Each string will show a number, which is the fret you should hold to create that chord. If you see a zero, that means an open string. An X means that string should be muffled.

If you’re not sure what a fret is, it’s the area between the metal bars on the neck, or the fingerboard of your guitar. Usually there will be somewhere between 21 to 24 frets on the acoustic guitar. The dots you see on the frets are simply a visual guide to let you see where you are.

While looking at acoustic guitar tabs, first you should note if the numbers are listed one after another on each of the lines. If they are arranged in this manner, the numbers are indicating to you which fret to use on that string, and you pluck that one string alone. On the other hand, if you notice that the numbers are stacked one on top of the other (in a vertical manner) on the individual line, the acoustic guitar tab is instructing you to play these notes simultaneously, strumming all six strings at the same time.

When researching acoustic guitar tabs you will find things like hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends and slides. The letter “h” notates hammer-ons. This might be noted on a line as 7h9. Pull-offs are noted in the same way by the letter “p”. Bends are notated by “b”s and slides, “/” (slash).

After you’ve gotten accustomed to the notion of reading music by string position, search online for basic acoustic guitar tabs and find a tune you’re really familiar with to practice on. While the approach may be new to you, you’ll see that you can pick up its melody quickly this way now that you can read tabs.

Listening to a song while you are trying to learn it makes it simpler to learn. Details and rhythms that you think you remember will pop out and help you. Learning the guitar using acoustic guitar tabs makes it quite a bit more fun. It won’t take long to learn several songs, and you will be able to play them for your friends at parties, or while you’re alone so you can enjoy them in private.

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