Beckwith Guitar Systems

12/29/2021

A student turned me on to a band called Sir Lord Baltimore. From Brooklyn, NY in 1968. I'm pretty sure these guys were the inspiration for Spinal Taphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOeOC16Jm9g

http://ripplemusic.blogspot.com/2008/03/proto-metal-report-sir-lord-baltimore.htmlGreat article about Sir Lord Baltimore!

12/08/2021

The holidays are upon us and it's time for my annual post on How to play the guitar in 10 minutes with one finger. Perfect for that new guitar player! Who needs lessons anyway?

Play Guitar with 1 Finger in 10 Minutes

11/10/2021

The little trio I front is finally getting ready to gig out again, so I needed some lights. What I got was a Chauvet DJ Quad 4 bar light set up. My how things have changed! I remember the old days of par cans and 1000s of watts of light/huge hassles to set up, this thing is prewired, weighs about 10 lbs. and uses 8o watts! Like a light bulb. I can set up in 5 minutes. It covers a small stage, has tons of colors and programs and costs $600.

Quad-color LED Lighting Fixture with 4 Adjustable Heads, Sound-active Mode, DMX Control, D-Fi USB Compatibility, Tripod Stand, and Carry Bag

10/26/2021

One of the most influential British bands of the early 60s was John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. Although they never really broke out, their leader, John Mayall could certainly spot guitar players! His first was Eric Clapton (hmmm wonder what happened to him?), and his second was Peter Greene. Although not as well known as Clapton, Greene was an excellent player, and the version of Bluesbreakers featured in this cut also contained Mick Fleetwood and soon after this Greene and Fleetwood would split off and form Fleetwood Mac. Also just listening to this cut I can hear a good bit of Stevie Ray..

After the success of my video of "The Stumble" uploaded in 2010 here is the second track of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers featuring Peter Green, "Double troubl...

10/12/2021

It's been awhile since I wrote anything, there was this little doodad Hurricane IDA that came by and knocked out my power and internet for a couple of weeks but good times can't last and I'm back. I am finishing up a simple learning program for busy adults on my blog. It shows you how to play 100s of chords, scales over half the neck in any key, technique exercises and gives you the ability to locate the scales and chords for any key,; all in 10 to 20 minutes a day of practice. It's all there in the blog for free and I've linked to the intro post, have fun!

Several years ago (2016), I wrote a post called Practicing with No Time, part 1. Although I followed up with part 2, I’ve decided to present a more comprehensive plan, one that draws on the posts I’ve presented over the years and allows you to achieve your goals in 20-30 minutes a day, 4-5 days....

08/24/2021

So the other candidate in my powered subwoofer search, the QSC K 118. It definitely seems like the higher quality choice, compared to the EV. 3600 watts, casters for an easier move, and would fit better with my present QSC K 12s, the only problem is nobody has them in stock and the shortest wait time if I order is at least a month (Covid hassles). So..

08/13/2021

One of my early guitar heroes was Joe Pass. I think he fully unlocked the potential of the guitar as a solo instrument. Born in 1929 in New Jersey, he turned pro by 14 and got addicted to he**in soon after. He played all over the country (even New Orleans for a year, playing bebop behind st*****rs!) and was in and out of jail. He finally cleaned up in the late 50's and became one of the hottest jazz guitarists on the west coast. This clip is him backing Ella Fitzgerald, he is solo at first and she comes in after a half hour. I'm still blown away by how effortless his playing seems.

00:50 Laura 04:25 Wave (Vou te contar)09:50 My Funny Valentine 14:05 You Stepped Out Of A Dream 18:57 You Turned The Tables On Me 23:33 Darn That Dream...

07/27/2021

A couple of months ago I posted a link to a blog article called " Prepared with spares" this is the 2nd part of that series and it focuses more on backups for gigs. It's also short, which is unusual for me, since I like to talk.

Prepared With Spares-2

07/13/2021

With the whole covid thing going away, the guys I jam with are thinking about actually gigging again. We even have 1 or 2 lined up and so my thoughts turn to a powered subwoofer. I'm just getting one for now so it needs to be pretty good. My 2 main candidates are an EV EKX 18" or a QSC KS 118. The EV is less than a $1000, and I can try it at the store. The QSC is more like $1500, I have to order it, but it would go with my mains which are QSC K-12's. Any feedback would be great. Thanks!

06/22/2021

My last featured artist was Paganini, this is almost the same! It's a band from Boston called the Upper Crust. They look like 18th century aristocrats and sound like early AC/DC. (Bon Scott era, my favorite). They formed in '95 and they're still around. This is a 20+ year old clip from Conan, we all look a bit older now!

[Stereo] The group of humorists and writers perform on late night USTV. A brief interview follows the song.

06/11/2021

C&M Music had a 25th anniversary celebration this past Sunday. While I enjoyed the party, (they had DumpstaFunk so what's not to like?), I've enjoyed teaching there even more. I've been there as a teacher for 6+ years and its been a great experience. Mel and Chris are good people and run a friendly operation. I have taught at several stores over the years and this has been my best experience by far. 25 years is a long time in this business, I hope you have 25 more! (although I'll probably be dead by then)

05/25/2021

My little trio is finally inching toward playing out after the whole covid thing. While I was checking over my rig and the PA I thought of this post.

Prepared with Spares