Reverb | Midwood Guitar Studio | Charlotte
Jun 7th 2020
Reverb has been an essential part of the electric guitar and all genres of music since the 1960's.
I’m a sucker for reverb. Always have been. I want to live inside my electric guitar. I always play piano with the sustain pedal depressed. Perhaps this preference has primordial roots, an inheritance from our cave-dwelling ancestors. It’s impossible to say for certain, but I’m
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Charvel and the Dawn of the Hot-Rod Guitar
May 26th 2020
Charvel and the Dawn
of the Hot-Rod Guitar
The “
gear-head” is integral to the advancement
of any technology. I am referring to the sort of individual who is rarely
satisfied with stock options. While most of us simply buy carefully, play, and
let be, gear-heads tend to view new acquisitions as blank canvases rather than
completed masterpieces. Not content with simply expressing
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Swart Amplifiers | Midwood Guitar Studio
May 13th 2020
Swart Amplifiers | Midwood Guitar Studio
Guitarists
and recording engineers alike know that the best studio amp is often small and
tweed. There’s something about a tiny, vacuum-tube powered box pushed to its
limits that perfectly captures the spirit of rock & roll. Before there were
full stacks and arenas full of screaming fans, teenagers learned to channel
their angst through diminut
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The Fender Guitar Legacy | Midwood Guitar Studio
May 7th 2020
The Fender Guitar Legacy | Midwood Guitar Studio
It’s impossible to imagine where the musicians of the world would be without the innovations of the
Fender Musical Instruments Company. From the first production solid-body electric to the first 100-watt amplifier (the latter requested by Dick Dale to satisfy a gymnasium full of ecstatic teenagers), Fender guitars are finely woven into the fab
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What's in a Guitar Finish | Midwood Guitar Studio
Apr 17th 2020
What's
in a Guitar Finish | Midwood Guitar Studio
A
group of butterflies is called a “kaleidoscope”, and given the amount of finishes
available, that would be an appropriate term for a group of guitars as well. In
a sense, guitarists can be classified based on their chromatic (pun intended)
leanings. That said, it may also reflect one’s maturity and self-confidence.
Case-in-point, my fir
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A Mythology of 12 Tones | Midwood Guitar Studio
Apr 14th 2020
A Mythology of 12 Tones | Midwood Guitar Studio
From an architectural standpoint, music is
like a spiral staircase. The same intervals repeat, while each floor is a new
octave. In the west, we divide each level into 12 separate tones that can be
selectively combined to create different scales. Assuming a static key
signature, 11 of these tones can be defined by their relative distance from t
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Three of My Favorite Chords | Midwood Guitar Studio
Apr 6th 2020
Three of My Favorite Chords
On the guitar, all inversions are not created equal. Assuming standard tuning, there are certain groupings of notes that the instrument seems to like best. Some shapes make inspired use of open strings, some are exquisitely symmetrical. Some chords test the limits of our physical capabilities, but make us stronger, better guitarists in the process. Here are some of my f
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A Love Song to the Piedmont Blues | Midwood Guitar Studio
Mar 27th 2020
A Love Song to the Piedmont Blues | Midwood Guitar Studio
I first learned to “Piedmont” pick from the
late, great John Cephas of the Richmond blues duo, Cephas & Wiggins. I had
just turned 15, and my fledgling identity was intertwined with music. I
gravitated towards anything that struck me as sincere and authentic. This took
me from punk rock to folk and blues. At the encouragement of my
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Dr. Z Amps - The Boutique Amplifier
Mar 4th 2020
The Boutique Amplifier - Dr. Z Amps
For
all your tubular amplifier needs, Midwood is proud to offer
Dr. Z Amps. As the
son of a 1950s television repairman, Michael Zaite grew up surrounded by vacuum
tubes. As a teen, he was a drummer in garage bands, and performed modifications
on his bandmate's amps. He went on to pursue a career in electronics, focusing
on medical equipment (thu
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