How often should you practice playing guitar?

This is a good question and not really an easy one to answer.  I've played guitar for around 16 years now on and off.  And when I say off, there have been some big 'off' periods where I haven't picked up my guitar for years at a time.  This definitely does not help my playing.

What I can say though that endless noodling, whilst fun, it's going to make you into a better player as such.  What is going to improve your playing is learning more scales, chords, modes etc.  Not always as much fun I know!

On another note, gear is a massive deal.  Sometimes, to unlock the tone in your head you need new gear.  Other times, you need to simply experiment with what you have to create something sonically pleasing.

What I mean by that is use the tone controls on your guitar, contour the sound on your amp and go to town with any pedals you have.  Don't stay in the box of one sound.  You'll be far happier (as well as more knowledgeable) by ensuring you know what everything sounds like when you turn those dials.

The PRS SE Custom 24 7 string guitar - my favourite axe for some serious...

Hey guys and gals!



I got a few professional shots of my guitar taken and decided to have them uploaded to YouTube.  I think the lighting effects really bring out the beauty of the veneer and the texture of the neck.  This is easily my current favourite guitar in my ever expanding line up!

Tone City pedals - unboxing time!

There's nothing quite like an unboxing video.  Seeing that shiny new guitar gear that's clean, new and making you drool...  That's why I thought I would share with you all the unboxing of my Tone City All Spark boost pedal and Tone City Comp Engine compressor.  I've never owned a boost nor compression pedal so I'm going to have loads of fun showing them off in other videos when I do some playthrough tests.

New guitar gear - Valentine's Day 2017

So guys, in this video I am super stoked about receiving some new guitar gear from my wife.  It was ordered from Andertons and I was amazed that it arrived exactly on Valentine's Day.  Watch the video to find out what I got!

Some lazy blues for the evening...

There's nothing quite like a little bit of blues - good for the soul if you like.  I've had my Fender DG-4 for around 18 years now and in 2016 I treated it to a professional setup and restring. It now plays better than ever and for that reason I'm more than happy to whip it out of the case and take it for a spin.  If you've got the blues, I hope you enjoy the video.  Maybe it will inspire you to play some yourself.

-Gary Stephen Shaw

An audio interface to beat lag?

I'm a relatively new artist on Bandlab (you can see what Bandlab is all about here). I really enjoy the creativity it offers and it's so much easier to use this medium to record. Don't get me wrong nothing is better than playing some live music with friends but I absolutely recommend Bandlab for a good recording session.

One thing I found quite early on though is for faster and more accurate music, lag is a problem. Lag is when you're playing and there's a signal delay between what you play and what actually hits the computer. This is where USB audio interfaces come into play.

They are effectively external soundcards that beef up the audio processing power and use a USB connection to reduce latency/lag down to single rather than triple digits. USB interfaces make recording easier and more enjoyable.

I haven't indulged in a USB audio interface yet because I'm still saving the pennies for other things (such as a new high gain pedal). However, I am looking to buy one in the next couple of months but there are so many on the market I'm finding it difficult to narrow down. Would anyone have a recommendation around the £150 or less ($220) mark?