PickBay
PickBay is a great way of either framing a special pick to keep with you – the pick you caught at a Steve Vai gig, the promotional one that came with your copy of Paul Gilbert’s Alligator Farm CD, the one you used at your first gig, or whatever – or for just making sure you always have a pick or three handy when you need them.
Link: PickBay
Custom picks from Grover Allman
See those picks up there in the PickBay post? Or the cool ”My other pick is my fingers’ picks in this post? They’re from Grover Allman and they’re awesome.
Link: Grover Allman
Pickmaster
Can’t find a guitar pick when you need one? Grab a Pickmaster, keep it close and you’ll always be able to make your own out of whatever material you find lying around. Experiment with new materials! Did you know that cardboard actually makes a pretty cool-sounding pick for acoustic guitar, with a sonic texture you just can’t get from nylon or Delrin or Tortex or what have you? Truesies! See my review here.
Link: Prezzybox
Tempo Music Cards
Check out these neat little flash cards for absolute beginners to learn 50 basic open guitar chords. Great for students, great for teachers, great for anyone who wants to fill in the blanks after learning sans-teacher for a while.
Link: Tempo Music Cards
The Axis of All Things by Chris Brooks
Chris is an amazing Aussie guitarist and a damn nice dude too. His melodic and technical skills are, quite frankly, mind-exploding. The Axis of All Things is his latest album.
Link: Chris Brooks
Dark Matter by Brett Garsed
Chris isn’t the only freakishly talented Aussie guitarist worth your Christmas dollar. Check out Brett Garsed’s Dark Matter. I was going to say that Brett has mastered the art of slide, the art of fusion, the art of rock, the art of blues, the art of phrasing, the art of note choice… but I guess what I’m really saying is that he’s mastered the art of guitar.
Link: Brett Garsed
MXR Custom Badass ’78 Distortion
This red little monster is one of my favourite gear discoveries of the year. I mainly use it to add a nice smooth sheen to my solo tone, but it’s absolutely killer when used across a clean channel as well, as your main distortion sound. Check out my review here.
Link: Jim Dunlop <a href=”http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-3199285-10381297?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.musiciansfriend.com%2FGuitars%2FGuitar-Amplifiers–Effects%2FGuitar-Effects%2FGuitar-Effects-Pedals%2FGuitar-Effects-Overdrive-Distortion-Fuzz–Boost%2FM78-Custom-Badass-%2778-Distortion-Guitar-Effects-Pedal.site1prodH71886.product&cjsku=H71886″ target=”_top”>Buy one from Musician’s Friend!</a><img src=”http://www.awltovhc.com/image-3199285-10381297″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″/>
Line 6 Mobile In
There are plenty of great guitar apps for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, and one of the best ways of getting sound into them is the Line 6 Mobile In. The sound quality is amazing and it’s a very well-constructed little unit. Works with Mobile POD, AmpKit, Garageband and many more.
Link: Line 6 <a href=”http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-3199285-10381297?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.musiciansfriend.com%2FPro-Audio%2FRecording-Gear%2FAudio-Convertors%2FMobile-In-Portable-Audio-Interface.site1prodH78450.product&cjsku=H78450″ target=”_top”>Buy one from Musician’s Friend.</a><img src=”http://www.lduhtrp.net/image-3199285-10381297″ width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″/>
Mono M80 Guitar Case
It’s like the Swiss Army Knife of guitar cases – light, thin, strong, versatile, and with little pockets, nooks and crannies all over the place to stow your cords, pedals, tools, sheet music, laptop, iPad, iPod, wallet, phone, pets and various sundries.
Link: Mono M80 at Thump Music
EVH Eddie Van Halen Sneakers
Eddie Van Halen defined California cool in the late 70s and early 80s with his home-cobbled guitars, and the red/white/black striped combination is his trademark. Literally. The rocker in your life will have the coolest feet this side of Dave Grohl (he has talons) with these official EVH sneakers.
Link: EVH Sneakers at Music123
The Orange Flipbook
This book tells you everything you need to know about Orange, the venerable amp brand who gave us the Tiny Terror, the OPC and, of course, about 35% of all classic rock guitar tones! One half of the book talks about Orange products while the other charts the whole history of the company and its pioneering approach to branding in the swinging London of the 60s.
Link: Orange
