Reviews

Review: Taylor Big Baby Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

This one’s a keeper. The Taylor Big Baby is all Taylor. They didn’t cut any corners when they made this quality guitar. OK,  so it’s not all solid wood, but the top is, and it sounds superb.  Not bad for 450 bucks.

It’s a cut down 15/16 model, so it’s great for players with smaller hands. It sports an ebony fretboard and some pretty cool rosette etching.  The bass notes ring and the treble notes have plenty of punch.  The neck is slim and feels just right.

It’s surprisingly loud for a cut down guitar and weighs almost nothing.

If I had to point out a negative on this guitar, it has no pick-up of any kind, but that’s not really a drawback on an acoustic guitar, is it?  The neck is screwed on, which is kind of weird, but it works.  The sound of the guitar is not negatively affected by it.

If you’re looking for a quality guitar on a budget, you won’t go far wrong with this one.

Buy it.

Review: Intelli IMT500 Clip-on Chromatic Digital Tuner

For the life of me, I cannot think of anything bad to say about the Intelli IMT500 Clip-on Chromatic Digital Tuner. It works on stage, allowing you to tune your guitar with the volume down. That’s invaluable if you play in different tunings and don’t have a gazillion guitars to use.

The tuner works by picking up the vibrations of your instrument. You just clip it on to your headstock, turn it on and let it rip. If you forget to turn it off, there a battery-saving mechanism that turns it off for you.

So, what’s not to like? It’s cheap. It works. It’s easy to use.

I’ve read some reviews that say it doesn’t pick up the low E string very well, but I’ve never had the problem. I’ve used it successfully on a Fender 12-string electric-acoustic, a beat-up Ibanez electric-acoustic, and my Fender tele.

No problems, and the first two aren’t exactly high-quality instruments. If your guitar isn’t live enough for the low E to vibrate through the instrument, throw it away.

If you don’t own this tuner, get one.

Simple enough.

The Blues Bag by Happy Traum

If you’re looking to build your repertoire as a country blues guitarist, Happy Traum’s the Blues Bag is filled with slick arrangements of traditional blues fingerpicking tunes that range from the simple to the complex.

Traum is a gifted guitarist and great teacher, a rare combination. The Blues Bag works both as guitar primer and repertoire builder for the performing blues guitarist.

Standards like the humorous Diddy Wah Diddy, Step It Up and Go, and Matchbox Blues are included alonng with fully tabbed, imaginative breaks that leave room for your own creativity.

The book is easy to read, interspersed with authentic photos and some very good writing on the blues. The tab is large and fully explained.

Traum has played with such luminaries as Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, and Phil Ochs, and is a fine performer on his own.

Highly recommended for intermediate to advanced players.

Read more reviews here.