Tosin Abasi, Electro Harmonix, YouTube guitarists, Amped Up and more

Hey guys, welcome back to Six String Sunday. I’ve been flying all over the place lately (and just got back from vacation), which has given me some time to write new posts for the site, and also find other cool guitar stuff from around the internet.

I’ve been seeing so many awesome things come out of Summer NAMM, and I’ll talk about my favorites next week. There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s get right into it.

Electro Harmonix Stereo Compressor/Limiter — I’m a huge pedal nerd. I love the possibilities that pedals give you as a player, and as a songwriter. If not used as a crutch, they usually will spark ideas for new riffs. One pedal that’s caught my eye lately is the Electro Harmonix Stereo Compressor/Limiter.

This page details what it does, and has an awesome (and funny) video about the pedal with audio examples. This video gives you examples of how the compressor can be transparent, or if you want to use it in more of an “effect” fashion. A compressor is a great pedal to have at the front of your chain, that can help your tone down the line. It’ll help squish your signal a little bit, and give you extra sustain. It’s a perfect pedal for country players, or for lead players who want that extra bit of goodness on their solos.

It’s priced really competitively for what it does, and I’ve always been a huge fan of EHX pedals. They’re made well, and are unique and fun. Do you use a compressor in your rig? If so, which one?

Guitar Album of the Week — The guitar album of the week this week is called Guitar Trio, and it features Paco De Lucia, John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola. I remember first getting this album on CD, when I picked up my first acoustic guitar. If you’re a fan of “shred” guitar, and want to hear how someone could shred on acoustic/classical guitars, this is the album for you.

There are so many good songs on here, and you’ll be surprised at the blazing speed and how one guitarist plays off another. Two tracks I’d start off with right away are Midsummer Night and La Estiba. If you listened to only those two tracks, you’d get an idea of the tour de force that’s on the rest of the album.

5 essential guitar albums you have to hear — I wrote up a post for the site this week that is nearly 2000 words. It’s all about 5 essential guitar albumsyou need to listen to. To me, these are must listens for any guitarist, but I think anyone who’s a fan of music would enjoy them.

The albums I get into are from Joe Satriani, Dream Theater, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Van Halen, and of course Steve Vai. If you’ve never heard these albums before, I envy you. I remember the first time I heard any of these albums, and I was blown away. For those of you who have heard these albums before, it’s always great to go back and listen to them again, and see if you hear anything new.

This article also features my favorite single note from any Steve Vai album. Go check out the post, let me know what you think, and let me know youressential guitar albums.

Amped Up! Debuts — This week I also debuted a new guitar radio show called Amped Up! The cool thing about this show is that the “station” lasts for 24 hours, and then it disappears. So it’s a good idea to take a listen while it’s live, or in that 24 hour window. You can eventually turn segments of the station into episodes that’ll last forever, but for the time being I’m enjoying the episodes being a one day thing.

I’ve already broadcasted from the station 3–4 times this week, and people seem to be enjoying it. You can listen on the Anchor app (which is free on iOS or Android) or right from the web. Amped Up! Is like a director’s commentary for Chasing Sound, and more.

If you read the site, and read Six String Sunday, AND listen to Amped Up!, I really believe you’ll be immersed in the world of guitar each week. And how cool is that?

Awesome YouTube Guitarists — Jared Dines is a fun musician on YouTube, who has a pretty big audience. He recently did a sponsored video for Skillshare talking about Awesome YouTube Musicians. Some of these folks are trying to get their music out there, some are teaching you guitar, or about gear, and more. Who’d you add to this list? Go check these guys out and give them some love.

Tosin Abasi Clinic — I’ve seen Tosin and Animals As Leaders many times, and it’s always an exciting show. Tosin is one of the masters of 7 and 8 string guitars. In this 1+ hour clinic, Tosin plays his new signature model guitar, with Fishman pickups installed.

He did the video for the guys over at The Music Zoo, which is one of my favorite retailers for guitars. I picked up a green Charvel that you may have seen on Chasing Sound quite a few times, and it came shipped to my door in tune and in great shape.

In the clinic there’s lots of great playing from Tosin, a great interview and discussion about techniques, modes and a lot more. You can tell Tosin is a guitar nerd in the best possible way. Go check the clinic out here.

That’s about it for now. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

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If you have any questions or comments, you can reply to this post, let me know on Twitter, or by posting in our Facebook group. I also have a fun Instagram channel where I post fun guitar pictures throughout the week.

Brian Sutich is a guitar player, audio engineer, podcaster, teacher, and hockey fan! He loves learning, helping people, and drinking way too much coffee.