My lovely students allowed my to set up a camera in the teaching room at Trevada, I filmed some of the lessons over the space of one week and put it all together using iMovie. The music is a little track I put together all recorded from my home studio.
Check out the time lapse lessons 🙂
Once again, its been a while since my last post. Super busy start to 2015. Lots of changes going on and many improvements to the course material happening all the time.
I have added some of the great testimonials sent to my by current CGL students and made some other updates in the website so make sure you go and check it out!
Over and out
I have started the process of getting some videos together for students to use as a visual aid along with there lesson sheets. This one was great fun, a little cover of ‘Come over’ by Royal Blood. Played on a Joe Trohman Squier Tele through a Backstair HT5C amp that is now used for lessons at Trevada music.
Check it out!
Happy New Year everyone, I hope you had an amazing night wherever you were and whatever you got up to, hopefully your heads aren’t to sore today!
I brought the new year in playing cover songs at The Carbis Bay hotel, despite waking up hangover free due to driving I am aching after a 3 hour set and lifting a lot of gear in and out, otherwise my head would be as bad as many others today.
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who had lessons with Cornwall Guitar Lessons in 2013, it was a great year and it’s been a pleasure to meet every one of you. I will be starting back at Trevada music in Camborne on Tuesday 7th and in Truro on the 8th.
I’m looking forward to spreading the word of Cornwall Guitar lessons throughout 2014 and seeing some old and new faces. Enjoy your New Years Day.
Darren
I have continued my pedal buying and selling obsession over the last few weeks in search of my perfect combination of pedals! My latest is the Xotic EP booster.
I have previously used a MXR micro amp and Boss GE-7 as the main boost pedal on my board, both of which are amazing but I was never 100% happy with them. After several recommendations and great online reviews I finally decided to buy this pedal. It took me around two weeks to find a shop that actually sells them in the UK, turns out these boutique pedals are hugely popular and sell out very quickly. When it arrived I definitely wasn’t disappointed with the wait.
The EP booster circuit is said to be based on the famous Maestro EP-3 Echoplex made famous by players like Chet Atkins, Chuck Berry, Jimmy page and Eddie Van Halen (the list goes on). At first glance it’s quite surprising how small this pedal is, making it perfect for pedal boards of all sizes. The pedal is extremely simple, stomp on the switch to get a clean volume boost, when stomping the switch a bright blue LED will light up, stomp on it again to switch it off. There is one single knob that controls the amount of boost you have, and it goes stupidly loud without affecting the tone of your guitar. In fact the pedal seems to round of your tone and make it seem thicker in some way, it’s very hard to describe exactly what it’s doing….but when using this pedal the original frequencies in my guitar sound that are pleasing seem to shine through even more. If the pedal wasn’t so expensive I would have two of them on my board.
The tonal options for this pedal are revealed once you remove the back plate of the pedal. There are two dipswitches, which allow you to change the EQ of the pedal. After messing about with all the variations possible I currently have mine set to the default settings. I am currently using the pedal after my drive pedals on my board rather then before them. I have tried it both ways but do prefer it after.
The only down side to this pedal is that you can only mess about with the EQ options by removing the back plate, it would be great if these switches were on the front of the pedal.
Overall I would say this is a must have pedal. It is simple yet extremely effective. It is a boutique pedal and therefore has the price tag that goes with it, but if you are willing to part with the cash you will not be disappointed.
I have been purchasing some new guitar pedals to use in some of the guitar lessons in Camborne and Truro and at gigs. The FFM3 has been the biggest surprise of them all. The pedal is just like the old Dunlop fuzz face JFH1 but its a lot smaller making it very pedal board friendly. It’s as simple as pedals come, we have a volume control and a fuzz control. Simply turn the dials clockwise for more volume or fuzz. With the fuzz turned down low you can get some really nice wooly distorted sounds and on full you create some of the filthiest fuzz sounds known to man! I can tell this is going to be a pedal I will be using for a long time to come, go and check them out.
So Christmas is nearly upon us, as I write this its actually 69 days, 13 hours and 35 mins….
Cornwall Guitar Lessons gift vouchers are the perfect present for a friend, relative or loved one looking to try out the guitar for the first time, or someone who wants to broaden their knowledge of the instrument! Gift vouchers will are sent 1st class directly to your door within 3 days of payment, they are professionally printed and come with a covering letter on how to arrange the first lesson.
Gift vouchers will soon be available to buy directly through the CGL website as well as Trevada music in Camborne.
Email info@cornwallguitarlessons.co.uk for more information on gift vouchers 🙂
I am now offering a FREE 30 minute trial lesson for anybody who buys a guitar from Trevada music in Camborne. They have a great selection of Squier steel string acoustic guitars with prices starting at £50! I have had a play about on these guitars and they are amazing value for money and ideal for anybody looking to buy a good quality guitar without breaking the bank! I am currently teaching from Trevada on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, for more information contact the shop or email me at darren@cornwallguitarlessons.co.uk
I have recently purchased a new bass to add to my guitar collection! I have been playing a Legend P bass clone for the past 13 years, which sounds and feels great, but it is in need of some TLC. I was amazed at the feel and tone you can get from the affinity series P bass, esspesially as many see this to be a cheap Budget bass guitar.
The body is fairly hefty in weight and immediately recognisable. The guitar is fit with a standard split coil pick up, and to me it doesn’t sound far of a that of a real Fender. I would definitely recommend one of these bass guitars to anybody looking to take up the bass, its great fun.
After my last blues lick mini lesson on a Robben Ford style lick, I decided to record the guitar solo to one of my favourite Robben Ford songs ‘talk to your daughter’.
The phrasing in this solo is amazing! It’s that perfect mixture of Major and minor pentatonic scales that sounds so appealing. You’re all over the neck when playing it so it’s also great to take it apart and understand all the little details.
I have read a few interviews where Robben Ford has talked getting a lot of his phrasing from learning Saxophone guitar parts and transposing them to the guitar! It’s a great way to try and break away from some of the clichés we all find ourselves playing!
Hope you enjoy and if you’re on YouTube remember to sign up to the CGL channel for Free videos.
Cornwall Guitar Lessons 