Archive for January, 2010
January 31st, 2010 | 
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Epiphone had its true beginnings in Greece where Anastasios Stathopoulos started out by making traditional stringed instruments such as violins, lutes, mandolins, and a Greek instrument called the lioutos. The family then moved to Smyrna in Asia Minor but later fled to New York due to persecution.
After moving to New York, Anastasios son, Epi Stathopoulos, inherited the family instrument making business. During the early years of Epi s running of the business, the company was called the House of Stathopoulos. But, Epi changed it from that to Epiphone. He filed for the change in advance, but it did not become official until 1928. The new company was named for Epi, the owner, and phonos, the Greek word for sound. At this point, it was called the Epiphone Banjo Company.
Epiphone launched their first guitars in 1931. They had a full line of what is known as the archtop style of guitar which are popular with jazz and blues players. After their launch they become one of the biggest guitar companies with Gibson being their main rival.
Things changed after Epi died of leukemia. He left the business to his brother Orphie and another brother, Frixo, became the president. This was not a lucrative partnership. The two brothers had a disagreement and Frixo sold his stocks in the company. After that, Epiphone fell on hard times both because of the war and because of poor management.
The fate of the company changed in 1957 when Chicago Musical Instrument, Gibson s parent company, purchased Epiphone. Now, the company is considered a subdivision of Gibson, though it maintains its own original line.
Epiphone has its own line of acoustic guitars as well as electric. The first instruments the Stahopoulos family created, after all, were acoustic instruments. The acoustic models include the Paul McCartney Texan, the Dove, the DR-100, the AJ-100, the AJ-200S, and the EJ-200. For more information and a more complete list of their guitars visit epiphone.com.
Epiphone also lists a lot of players who use their guitars on the website. They include Paul McCartney, Moby, Glen Maxey of Brother Cane, Tom Peterson of Cheap Trick, Chris Chaney of Jane s Addiction, and Marty Roe of Diamond Rio. The site doesn t seem to specify whether they play an acoustic or electric guitar.
Here is what one person has to say about their Epiphone acoustic:
About the Epiphone AJ-100 EB
Overall this guitar astonishes as a bang-for-the-buck item. So far superior than what was available to me in this price range than when I picked up guitar in the mid seventies. Computer-programmed, manufacturing has spawned some really accurate, cheap guitars. What a blessing really. I must commend the builders or factory workers as the case may be in making these instruments. Affordable, inexpensive guitars are better and more plentiful than ever. Overall, this guitar is good enough to warrant all the word I have spent glowing about it. I have written maybe three reviews in my life, because I usually don t bother.
William McRea
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/a-brief-history-of-epiphone-acoustic-guitars-54488.html
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Legacy Learning, the creators of Learn and Master Guitar has created another fantastic learning tool. Learn and Master Piano. Learn and Master Piano is quite possibly the finest piano education course on the market today. Much like Learn and Master Guitar, Learn and Master Piano, at first glance seems a bit pricey. It isn’t until one realizes what is in the box that the true worth is realized. Learn and Master Piano comes complete with fourteen, two session DVD’s each session has a twenty minute workshop that follows. There are five play along CD’s a one hundred and four page workbook, an internet forum and a very talented, highly motivational instructor, Will Barrow.
The fourteen, two session DVD’s, cover twenty eight sessions ranging from the fundamentals of piano to rag time and the blues. If this were a personal instructor that you visited once a week you would be able to see them for over a year! That fact alone puts the cost into perspective. The DVD’s are very well made and set to a pace any level of piano player would be comfortable with. Will Barrow is well spoken and very focused on the goals of each session. There is a split screen approach that is very convenient for the student. It shows Mr. Barrow and his piano from a top view, above that on the screen is another keyboard showing the keys he is pressing and their corresponding note.
Within the DVD’s there are also workshops. These are twenty minute practice sessions that key in on the important points of each session. They may be utilized directly following the session or as practice reinforcement. They are one of the finest additions to this and other Legacy Learning courses.
Through out the sessions there are also “nuggets” of information that Mr. Barrow will refer to occasionally. They are bits of information about the piano that you might pick up in casual talk with a personal instructor. They are also nice ways to refrain from the lesson for a moment without actually losing the learning atmosphere.
Then there is the one hundred and four page workbook. As any teacher or student knows repetition is how to learn and repetition in different mediums is how you master! This workbook is stuffed with reading material, projects, fill in the blanks and an assortment of extra curricular activities. Each section in the workbook corresponds with a session on the DVD’s and adds a little bit more to what you are learning. With this and the other “Add-on’s”, learning the piano becomes more of a sub-conscious pleasure that any sort of conscious effort.
Legacy Learning isn’t done yet. Along with the purchase of the Learn and Master Piano course the student also receives exclusive membership to the web-site which is full of even more learning and a forum for any questions that other students may be asking along with responses from the instructor, Will Barrow himself.
The Learn and Master Piano course is fantastic. It is set up and produced so well that a player from any level will receive something from this lesson. With the DVD’s, the play along CD’s, the workbook, the “nuggets”, the infallible instructor and the on-line support, Learn and Master Piano is worth every penny and more! As a musician myself I would recommend this course to any of my friends who wanted to learn the piano.
Thanks for reading,
Dave
Dave Pierce
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/learn-master-piano-a-new-course-by-legacy-learning-systems-678588.html
The guitar is an amazing musical instrument with ancient roots and used in a huge variety of musical styles today, it is also called as solo classical instrument. It is most well known as the primary instrument in blues, country, flamenco, rock music and many other forms of pop. The guitar normally has six strings, but four, seven, eight, ten, and even twelve string guitars are as well available. Guitars are actually made and repaired by lutheirs. Guitars could be played acoustically or they may also rely on an amplifier, which usually allows for electronic manipulation of tone. The electric guitar was established in the 20th century, and had a huge profound influence on popular culture.
In many of the history books, even some which are highly rated, you would come to know that guitar was invented by the classical-era Greeks. This is in fact due to a simple mistake. The Greeks had an instrument that they called as “Kithara”. As this was a stringed instrument and as the name also resembles very closely that of guitar, historians tend to assume that it was a guitar. The Kithara was actually a sort of Lyra or Harp, which has nothing to do with a guitar. Also, if you view at ancient Egyptian paintings, you would see many musical instruments that could be easily be mistaken for a guitar. Even by those who have been playing the instrument for twenty years.
Another fact is that quite often, in these ancient paintings, the instruments in question were used as spiritual objects and were not even played. Through rigorous study, it becomes obvious that the guitar is not actually an ancient musical instrument.
Closer to us in time, most of us would believe of the lute as a direct (straight) ancestor to the guitar. You can consider that as the “father” of the guitar. The lute, this instrument favored by troubadours of the dark ages and the revival, more closely resembles a contemporary bass than a guitar. Usually, it had four strings, which needs to be plucked; one could not strum a lute.
The body of the lute was oval and the back was rounded, kind of like an Ovation guitar. This results in that the lute was not actually a loud instrument. Hence, it could not be played in any type of band setting.
Rocky
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/a-short-history-of-guitar-110913.html
Acoustic electric Guitars: this is a term used to describe acoustic guitars that have pickups installed in them so they can be plugged into amplifiers or PA systems. The majority of acoustic guitars you see on stage are acoustic electric guitars. Structurally, they are identical to traditional acoustic guitars.
Electric Guitars: these types of guitars made out of a solid piece of wood and rely exclusively on their electronic pickup systems and amplifiers for their volume. Their unique sound lends itself best to rock and roll, but they have also substantially shaped the sound of country music in the last 50 years. (Think “twang”)
Classical Guitars: also called “nylon-string”, classical guitars are used almost exclusively in the classical and folk idioms, but can also be found on more popular recordings. Carlos Santana makes a lot of use of the classical guitar in his
recordings. Slightly smaller than a traditional acoustic, they feature slightly wider necks and strings that are made of nylon rather than steel, to give them a very gentle, warm sound. The best Classical guitars are usually from Spain.
Hollow-body Guitars: These are simply traditional electric guitars that have chambers cut in the body to allow for more sonic resonance. They come in many different sizes and are favored primarily by players of blues and jazz music.
Steel Guitars: These are the farthest breed apart from traditional guitars so far. While any guitarist can pick up any guitar
from the above list and play, a steel guitar requires special training to play. The guitar is played flat on its back, and the strings are elevated approximately half an inch above the fretboard. This allows the strings to be played using a “tone bar” that takes the place of the fingers on a fretboard and gives the steel guitar its classic “crying sound”. This is the archetypal guitar sound.
Guitars from Spain
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/types-of-guitars-acoustic-electric-guitars-electric-guitars-classical-guitars-hollowbody-guitars-steel-guitars-85888.html
Young guitarist struggling between pursuing the blues or classical guitar.
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