The original designer of the Les Paul model was Lester William Polsfuss or for short Les Paul. Les was born on June 9th 1915, in Wisconsin and was probably one of the best inventors who ever lived.

The generic Les Paul has two hum bucker pickups, rounded neck, with a high gloss finish (usually). There are other models that can have 3 hum bucker pickups. There can even be some with no hum bucker pickups; instead they might have a couple of EMG pickups instead. Some might also have a more rough finish, also referred as a worn finish. In conclusion there are almost an infinite number of Les Paul models out there, and if you are looking to start guitar, looking for a new guitar, or just looking to collect a Les Paul is an excellent choice.

EGEN18

Ok i know, its a signature model. But Herman Li's EGEN18 is a brilliant guitar. So first off, the technical info:

Neck: 5pc Wizard Maple/Walnut Neck

Body: Flamed Maple top/Mahogany body

Fret: Jumbo frets

Neck pu: DiMarzio HLM (H) neck pu

Middle pu: DiMarzio (s) mid pu

Bridge pu: DiMarzio HLM (H) bridge pu

Ok so sure, that might not mean alot to you. So lets speak in laymans language and about some of the modifications made to the guitar. Firstly the deeper cut horn, this was modeled using herman li's hand and the E-Gens unique scoop at the back of the body allows much easier access to the high frets at any angle, thus making solos a hell of a lot easier. That, coupled with the scalloped frets in that area makes scales extremely easy. Perfect for that mind blowing solo.

Impressed already? Im only just getting started. On the upper horn the E-Gen has herman li's custom "Kung Fu" grip which he says is "essential" for his performances on stage. The low profile mid pickup setting is there to make sure it doesn't get in the way of some extreme strumming from alternative picking to heavy rythmn.

Lastly, the Edge-Zero bridge and the DiMarzio Herman Li Custom Pickups (quote from Ibanez.com):

The most stable and versatile locking bridge. Customised Edge-Zero bridge with specially designed springs for Herman's preferred tremolo bar feel; smoother with increased sensitivity. Deeply routed tremolo cavity makes the E-Gen capable of an extremely wide range of whammy bar tones and applications. From the most screamingly high harmonics to guttural dive-bombs, this tremolo system does it all! The Edge-Zero E-Gen Custom also includes 'locking studs' bridge posts as an optional installation.

So there is Herman Li's Custom... More soon.

The moodswinger is a guitar-like instrument which was created by Yuri Landman. In actuality, it is not a guitar per se, but more like a zither, because it has no frets. This 3rd bridge guitar has 12 strings and is electrically powered. The moodswinger was originally made by Yuri Landman for drummer Aaron Hemphill. Quite an unusual guitar, isn't it?

The Great Stalacpipe Organ

The Great Stalacpipe organ was considered by many as one of the largest crafted musical instruments in the world. It is located inside the Lurray Caverns, in the Shanandoah Valley. Leland Sprinkle, the inventor of this unique instrument, discovered that stalactites inside the Lurray caverns produce melodic sounds. He then constructed a keyboard console and wired a mallet to each stalactite within a 3.5 acre cavern space! The sounds gathered from the stalactites are then regulated by this stalacpipe organ and can be played using traditional organ/piano keys. This became considered as the oldest natural litophone in the world.

The Zadar Sea Organ

The Sea Organ is a splendid example of impeccable architecture and sound engineering. Located on the shores of Zadar, Croatia, this is the first musical instrument naturally played by the waves of the sea. This unique instrument, made by architect Nikola Basic in 2005, looks like normal but elegant steps along the seashore. Underneath it, however, are 35 musically tuned tubes. Depending on the size, strength, and velocity of the waves that toss on the seashore, musical chords are played and the sound comes out from whistle openings on the sidewalk. Call it a main instrument in nature's orchestra.

The Aeolian Wind Harp

The Aeolian harp is a musical instrument played by the wind. It originated in Ancient Greece, but was popularly used as home decorations during the Renaissance and Romantic Era. It is designed to play music without human hands. The wind causes the Aeolian harp to vibrate and produce random harmonic sounds and notes (sometimes chords). This is another instrument in nature's orchestra!

The Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ

The Guiness Book of World Records consider the Atlantic City Organ as the loudest musical instrument ever created. It is also the world's largest pipe organ. This instrument has 7 manuals (controls found in most traditional organs), 1,255 speaking stops, 455 ranks and 33,112 pipes! One of the natural speakers built inside this instrument can be six times louder than the world's loudest train whistle! The Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ weighs approximately 150 tons (which explains why it's stuck in that location possibly forever).

Aquaggaswack

Besides being hard to spell, this instrument was also uniquely built. It falls under the category of gong and cymbal instruments. Mallets, sticks and brushes form the Aquaggaswack. It is made of pot lids stuck together by galvanized plumbing pipe. It was created by Curtis Settino in 1996 as an experimental musical instrument.

Sandata Ng Lolo Ni Tatay

If we translate this from the Filipino language, this means "Weapon Of My Father's Grandfather". This instrument originated from the Philippines and was created by Lirio Salvador. It looks like a cello and can be played exactly like one, except that the sound is different. The sound is amplified by a magnetic pickup coming from mixing bowls. The 'Sandata ng Lolo Ni Tatay" is a very interesting instrument to watch being played. The name is funny too.

Of course, the easiest way to rectify this is to get professional lessons from someone with twice as much expertise. Unfortunately, time and money make this difficult for most.

The first time I reached a plateau in my understanding several people told me that it helps to diversify what I’m learning. If I’ve been practicing a lot of leads and riffs, I should work on rhythm. If I’ve been running scales a lot I should sit down and learn the theory behind them.

Been there done that.

Others said it helps to learn multiple instruments. If you play guitar, pickup a bass because you’ll end up using different rhythms. Grab a cheap drum kit and work on timing. Sit at a piano and learn theory and hand separation.

Again, been there done that (it’s definitely not cheap either to own multiple instruments).

I recently found out about Guitar Pro 5. This is not a new program or a new concept but I had always brushed off these types of programs because they seemed tricky and complicated.

Guitar Pro 5 is by far the best program I have found to increase my abilities. Using hundreds of websites, I can download COMPLETE PROFESSIONAL tablatures to thousands of songs. It’s not tabs made by some Joe Schlubb who thinks an Am7 is the same as an Amsus. (I hate every time I get a tab prefaced by “Hey this is my first one but I think it’s pretty accurate”).

These tabs show the rhythm section, lead, bass, piano… whatever. Complete tabs of all the instruments used in a song.

On particularly tricky songs I can slow down the tempo and play along with the midi until I get it, then steadily increase the speed back to the original.

After using these midi files to practice for about a month, I also noticed that I was able to play more by ear. I was subconsciously learning how to pick out the notes in songs that were similar to the ones I’d been practicing.

Hit up YouTube and check out some video demos of the program and then go to ultimate-guitar.com and scroll through all the songs they have Guitar Pro tabs for.

There are similar programs out there, but this one seems to be the best to me.

He has participated in many bands such as: Praxis, Primus, C2b3 (also known as Colonel Claypool´s Bucket Of Bernie Brains, because of the band members that in order they are: Les Claypool (bass) Buckethead (guitar) Bernie Worrell (Keyboard) Brian "Brain" Mantia (drums), they are all denoted as PSYCHO) also in the Frog Brigade.

He currently lives in Sonoma County, California in his Rancho Relaxo. He is also the inventor of the instrument called Whamola that consists of a Big Stick, D bass String and a Drumstick as a pick. He is not from Planet earth.

An iconic bass intro for a song that loses little of its iconic status even on the record, where it is bereft of violin-bow antics. Jones later immaculately holds together Page's solo sequence.

19) Trampled Underfoot- Led Zeppelin (John-Paul Jones)

Simple, and often obscured by the most persistent of Page riffs and Plant's best sequence of wailed innuendos, but this simplicity is its genius.

18) I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles (Paul McCartney )

Never mind the fact that it isn't an original part, it walks at the perfect times for this song.

17) YYZ - Rush (Geddy Lee)

The first complex line on the list; Lee harmonises with Lifeson's guitar with the crispest of bass sounds.

16) How Much Are They? - Jah Wobble (Jah Wobble)

With a sound thick enough for wallowing, as one would in mud, the Wobster provides both solidity and melody in a Krautrock-new wavey sort of way.

15) Hysteria - Muse (Chris Wolstenholme)

As melodic as it is fast, the bass intro kickstarts the song that arguably started Muse's rise to their current status - a band that can and will sell out Wembley Stadium.

14) Velmwind - Ozric Tentacles (Vinni Shillito)

Keyboards shimmer and the guitar provides a simple, if unusual, sort of melody, but the driving bass gives a sense that the song is constantly moving forward - at speed, but also under complete control.

13) This Charming Man - The Smiths (Andy Rourke)

Following the rhythm of Marr's superb guitar part, Rourke pounds out a bass melody that inspired a decade of musicians, and walks superbly as Morrissey explains that "he knows so much about these things...."

12) My Generation - The Who (John Entwhistle)

During the verses and chorus Entwhistle's bass is insistent and has enough power to keep West London lit up for a great many years. During his solo sequence, it is flash and funky, before the power returns. Classic.

11) Drunkship of Lanterns - The Mars Volta (Flea)

Rarely does Omar Rodriguez-Lopez indulge in simple rhythms, but Flea finds a (relatively) simple path between the latinesque drums, fusion guitar and Cedric's self-testing of the peaks of his vocal range.

10) Nowhere Fast - The Smiths (Andy Rourke)

The song is notable for all four parts, but the bass is constantly moving, and continues as such even when Marr's part becomes more complex. The bass also provides half of the sound for the classic intro.

9) A Means to An End - Joy Division (Peter Hook)

The bassline provides the impetus for a song that is as pounding as Joy Division could have ever been. It never strays a great distance from the first note, but then neither do the other parts. The timing of the most emphatic notes of the song, in the last two bars of the guitar break before the return to the riff, could not be better.

8) Bigmouth Strikes Again - The Smiths (Andy Rourke)

The song is better known for Morrisey's comically silly lyrics and Marr's insatiable guitar break, but Rourke's walk across the famous guitar part transforms the sequence from being inescapably brilliant to being legendary.

7) Halleluhwah - Can (Holger Czukay)

Another song famous for a part other than its bass part, but Liebezeit's classic Can-groove is perfectly complemented by a typically spaced-out but well-judged bassline.

6) Knock Me Down - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Flea)

Flea's transformation from straight-rock mode in the verses to funk-rock in the chorus is seamless, and proves two things. First, that his playing in the former style is every bit as good as that in the latter; second, that it is a shame that at some point in the future, he will stop writing basslines. Thankfully, the slaps in the chorus of this song, particularly the rising sequence at the end, will live forever.

5) Barbarism Begins at Home - The Smiths (Andy Rourke)

The most complex of Rourke basslines - so complex than an entire bass riff (Jenny Was a Friend of Mine by The Killers) is hidden within it. The Smiths were masters at juxtaposing bright, sunny music with dark lyrical themes; here, Rourke provides infectious, happy funk in a song about physical abuse of children. His part interlinks perfectly with that of Marr in The Smith's most musically advanced song.

4) Yoo Doo Right - Can (Holger Czukay)

The first half of the bassline contains just two notes. The second half pushes the boat out with five, when it doesn't so much walk as shuffle. It then proceeds to move between these two themes of differing levels of simplicity for twenty minutes - on the record anyway; in the studio it had gone on for six hours of experimental drone before being edited down. The key word here is drone, but not in the negative, monotonous sense that is traditionally implied; when Czukay is rising, he creates an uplifting atmosphere that complements positive aspects of the lyrical theme ("once I was blind but now I see, now that you're in love with me"). Throughout, the bass and drums are perfectly aligned, and whilst the bassline may not encompass an enormous range, the quavers are busy enough to contrast the near-ambient guitar part. In comparison to the other parts, the bassline never moves from its original motifs, meaning that new combinations with other instruments regularly appear; even in a twenty-minute epic, the bassline never dips into tedium.

3) Wake Up - Rage Against The Machine (Tim Commerford)

By far Commerford's greatest creative contribution to his seven albums with Rage and Audioslave, he encapsulates in a single riff the spirit of Rage Against The Machine: it is rocking, funky and angry. If a bassline can be defiant, then it is as defiant as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, the black heroes who the song claims were murdered by the US government.

2) One of These Days - Pink Floyd (Roger Waters)

For over thirty seconds, the wind whistles across your speakers or headphones. If the volume is loud, a distant squeak provides a prelude to a booming bass note with plenty of delay attached. A second follows, also with delay, before a two-note dotted-quaver rhythm begins to pound over the wind. Keyboards and guitar are soon laid over the top, each playing a single, sparsely distributed note as the bass dominates. Drums are later introduced, but the bass still booms. Nearly three minutes in, tremolo is added, creating a wall of sound, and everything else falls away. During the main sequence, the bass continues to be the centrepiece even as Gilmour's guitar squeals. It is truly a bassline to cut you into little pieces.

1) Mother Sky - Can (Holger Czukay)

If the notion of "controlled chaos" were ever to be a coherent concept, it would most likely be in the context of this piece of music. Indeed, the best phrase to describe "Mother Sky" is almost certainly "controlled chaos." The guitar and keyboard parts certainly emphasize the "chaos" element; the only parts of this fourteen-minute epic - which just about sits on the right side of the line between genius and madness - in which the guitar and keyboards can be said to be "controlled" are the parts in which they are not playing. Holger Czukay is the eye of the storm; his bass part is perfectly calm, in contrast to what surrounds him; it is regular, in contrast to the improvised lead parts; it is also the centre around which the entire piece revolves. Forget Jones holding together Page, Plant and Bonham, or Myung holding together Petrucci, Portnoy and Rudess; this is the pinnacle of relentlessly solid and unifying bass playing. It also helps that Czukay's main bass melody, often appearing as the other instruments reach climax, is sublime. Towards the end of the piece, he is allowed to venture from both this motif and his insistent two-note hook that underpins the seemingly unpinnable; even this is simple and controlled whilst being melodic and catchy. You can't dance to it, but if you want to dance to Mother Sky then you should probably - nay, certainly - be sectioned. (If you can dance to it, then you merely think you can, and are obviously delusional.) Bass lines of this quality do not need to be danced to in order to be truly appreciated. (1,224 words)

It is very easy to notice the differences of the two, both visually and kinesthetically. The bass guitar is substantially larger then a guitar. The neck of a bass is longer and the body is much heavier then that of a guitar. A bass typically has four strings, while a guitar has six. The strings of the guitar are much thinner than that of the bass, which create different tones and pitches, which are very important to the purpose of both these instruments.

In a musical group, the bass and the drums are the keepers of the rhythm. The bass is a supportive instrument for the guitar and vocals. The bass holds down the foundation to the music, letting the guitar solo, or do something a bit more technical to add to the music. Although you can have a bass solo, or a rhythm guitar, it is most common for the bass to be in the background, while the guitars lead the music and take the spotlight.

As a bass player, people always ask me if I play bass because it's easier then guitar, but it is not. When starting to play an instrument bass is typically easier to learn because a bass usually plays one note at a time, while a guitar plays chords with up to six notes at a time. So obviously it would appear that bass is easier then guitar, which may be true, but in a group the bass holds much more responsibility then the guitar. Without the “base” you cannot build upwards, so to be a successful bass player a keen sense of rhythm and style is a must. But learning any instrument is hard work, and mastering either of these instruments is no small feat.

Then he tells me I can't be in the band!!! I was kinda ticked off!!! I don't really like the bass it's just that I wanted to be in my cousin's band!!!

So I get over it. My birthday is about two weeks after Christmas, so i'm going to have a have a party soon. My best friend plays the Guitar and the Bass and I tell him about my cousin's band. Then my cousin's band gets pretty famous =0!!! So my friend wants to be in the band, but never even met my cousin!!! Then my Birthday came, and my best friend and my cousin were talking the whole time!!! My friend was trying to act cool. Then when everyone but my other friend, me, and cousin leave the other people in my cousin's band call him saying their dad met Slash!!! (He's in a famous band too) So then i'm like wow. Then I tell my cousin my best friend should be in his band!

biHe now is. So now my cousin chose my best friend who he barely knows over his cousin who he's known all his life, sigh, what a mess. Few weeks later i'm sitting at school waiting for my friend, he ignores me and goes sitting next to the sporty people and he doesn't do any sports himself. We are not friends anymore. I kinda moved on, he didn't. He now watches people play basketball while I DO play basketball. So... this is a story of how a stupid band really affected my life, and now you know that you should not make the same mistakes I did.

A blank tab will look like this:

e|----------------------------------------------------------|

B|----------------------------------------------------------|

G|----------------------------------------------------------|

D|----------------------------------------------------------|

A|----------------------------------------------------------|

E|----------------------------------------------------------|

You will notice first the letters on the left side. This tells what tuning is used; in this case its standard E. The lower pitch strings are on the bottom, higher on the top. Other tunings are also used. Drop D is when the low e string is lowered in pitch a whole step and the rest stay the same, and is probably the second most used tuning.

Next a tab will have numbers on it anywhere from 0, which is a open string, to 24 (only some guitars have 24 frets, if yours doesn't and you find a rare tab that says 24 you can play it on the next string down if u find that same note). For example:

e|---------------5------------------------------------

B|------------4---------------------------------------

G|---------3------------------------------------------

D|------2---------------------------------------------

A|---1------------------------------------------------

E|-0--------------------------------------------------

This selection means on the low e string you will play the open note pressing down no frets. On the A string you will play the first fret, known as a B flat. Next on the D string also known as the 4th string you will play the 2nd fret known as E. That is an octave of the first note played. The other notes will be the same way.

Chords can be played many different ways. In tabs they are read when notes are stacked vertically, right on top of one another. For example:

e|-------------------------------------------------|

B|-------------------------------------------------|

G|--55555555---------------------------------------|

D|--55555555--55555555--22222222--33333333---------|

A|--33333333--55555555--22222222--33333333---------|

E|------------33333333--00000000--11111111---------|

This would be a commonly seen chord progression from a “power chord” or a 5th. This chord is made by, on the A string or the 5th string, holding down the 3rd fret; then on the D string/4th and on the G/3rd string, holding down the 5th fret. This is a simple chord that can be moved around that uses 3 fingers. This first chord shown was C, moved to a G, to an E, to a F. Chords can be shown many other ways as long as the notes are stacked vertically.

Timing can be found by listening to the song then looking at the tab and relating the 2 usually. However close the notes are together also is some clue to how they will be played.

Once you look at tabs more less thinking will be required and you will also be familiar with some of the symbols used. Some of the common ones are as follows.

x = damp note

~ = vibrato

Pm..** = palm mute

12b14 = 12th fret bent to sound like the 14th (this could be used any where)

14rb12= release the bend to the 12th again also can be used anywhere on the fret board

12h13 = hammer the 13th fret while holding the 12th (can also be used anywhere)

13p12 = pull off the 13th while holding the 12th (still used anywhere)

/= slide (for example 2/4|||||||can also be used with chords)

Now armed with this knowledge you are ready to read tabs and maybe even write your own. You can find tablature websites anywhere on the web. To find a good site search “guitar tabs” in the Google search bar. Tabs are usually rated by stars, 5 being the best. There are also tabs for drums, and bass. Have fun and keep practicing. Also do not hesitate to buy the music.