If you’re like me and into modern hard rock, you should be familiar with Alkaline Trio (If you’re not, get your ass to their Myspace page and never admit that you didn’t recognize them). All kidding aside, guitarist Matt Skiba is a very influential songwriter and one hell of a guitar player for Alkaline Trio. His tone is quite unique so I was very happy to see this video posted on Guitar World’s YouTube channel allowing him to show off his guitar gear. You’ll see his live guitar setup which is as sweet as anyone could ask for. Enjoy.
Update – It looks like Matt Skiba is a big fan of the new Fender Jaguar HH in Surf Green and the Fender SuperSonic line of amplifiers:
If you haven’t seen them at the local Guitar Center yet, the Gibson Robot guitars are now on sale and causing quite a bit of discussion. I’m still on the fence with them because I’ve always appreciated traditional Les Paul’s to the more “modern” models they are cranking out at Gibson (like the Les Paul BFG crap sandwich). They seem to keep the integrity of the instrument while adding the robot tuner system. Is this good enough for you to spend between the one and three thousand they are asking for them?
One of the best tools I’ve been introduced to in the last few years turned out to be one of the best self guitar lessons I’ve ever had, and one of the best ways to remember a cool riff as it develops. Teach yourself guitar by learning how to play your favorite songs. And there’s a world of downloads to keep you entertained.
Guitar Pro is essentially a program that will bring a guitar tab to life. It’s powered by a MIDI engine that will read and playback the notes while you follow along with the tab. For those of us who don’t always practice with a metronome, it breaks down the tough runs for us. Although the backup band isn’t that fantastic (come on, it’s a basic MIDI engine), it will still keep you in time and involved in the song. With multiple instruments and tracks playing simultaneously, you can just focus on the leads or solidify the rhythm track. It’s even pretty neat to go see the vocal or keyboard parts transcribed for guitar. Stare in amazement as you see your favorite Dragon Force song being shredded out by a computer.Once you’ve acquired the software, head over to a reputable guitar tab site. I recommend Ultimate-Guitar.com for its accurate tabs, constantly updated tab list and lack of “payment required” access. In other words, the guitar tabs are free as of this posting. Run a search for your favorite song (and don’t be afraid to challenge yourself!) You’ll see Guitar Pro files listed with ratings on song accuracy. Download, rock.
Guitar Pro is also an excellent arrangement tool for songwriters. With a little to no knowledge of written music, you can quickly pick it up and compose that masterpiece that’s been begging to be unleashed upon the masses. Use Guitar Pro to mesh your riffs into songs rather than random thoughts, and add accompanying instruments behind it. You might be surprised at how well a part sounds on piano rather than electric guitar. Or a vocal line played on a trumpet. What ever it is, it’s worth the time spent experimenting and amusing yourself. You can even transpose your songs into different keys to see if down-tuning really is the way to go, or write a song out in an alternate guitar tuning a la Kashmir. It even has guitar tricks like whammy (take it 3 octaves up if you’d like), artificial harmonics, slides, hammer-on’s and even pick scrapes.
So stop making excuses not to practice, or take up that New Year’s resolution before it’s forgotten about. Either way, Guitar Pro is going to be the tool to get you to the next step.
-Recent update: In April 2009, Manson’s Guitar Shop announced that Matt Bellamy’s signature guitars would be available to the public under the MB-1 model name. Available in two colors (“Matt” black and glitter red) this guitar comes packed with all the features the nerd guitarist drools over. It also comes with a hefty price tag, but it’s the price for excellence. For more pics and full details, visit the Manson Signature Guitars page. Here are the posted specs for the MB-1:
Alder Body
Birds Eye Maple Neck
Rosewood Fingerboard
MBK-2 Bridge Humbucker
Fernandes Sustainer Humbucking Neck Pickup
Fixed Bridge
Gotoh 510 Machine Heads
Kill Switch
Volume, Tone
Sustainer On/Off Switch
Sustainer – Harmonic/Fundamental Switch
3-way Pickup Selector Switch
Manson Deluxe Logo Hard Case
After being wowed by Matt Bellamy and his incredible performance at the Muse concert in LA, I began reading up on Matt Bellamy’s guitar setup and continued my new-found fascination with the band. I’ve sometimes wonder if everything that can be done with the electric guitar is already avaliable. What if found was a bit inspiring.
I have to start with his guitars, as they are amazing pieces of work. Matt Bellamy has his guitars custom built by Hugh Manson of Manson Guitars. At first glance, they appear to be a cross breed of a Les Paul and a Telecaster, with some exaggerated looks. But the extra knobs and controls on the guitars serve various purposes depending on the guitar. The guitar I saw the most at the recent show was The Mirror Manson.
The Mirror Manson was a pretty incredible sight to see under the stage lights for it’s obvious reflective properties, because of how hard it is to look away from it. Combine it with their usual amazing light show and it’s going to be a blinding experience. Haha. The guitar is equipped with a pair of Mississippi Queens pickups from Bare Knuckle. But the really incredible part of this guitar is the MXR Phase 90Roland GK2 MIDI internal pickup and the Fuzz Factory effects built right in, with the control knobs accessable on the guitar. (Check out how this thing is wired!)
He has multiple versions of these guitars with other features like Kaoss pads and MIDI control sliders buit in for contol over his Whammy pedal and other floor effects. Check out the Muse Wiki site for lots more info.
Here’s an overview video I found on youtube to see more…
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The Mirror Manson was a pretty incredible sight to see under the stage lights for it’s obvious reflective properties, because of how hard it is to look away from it. Combine it with their usual amazing light show and it’s going to be a blinding experience. Haha. The guitar is equipped with a pair of Mississippi Queens pickups from 
