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A Shredder's Guide to Frankfurt
By Brett Ratner April 26, 2000 FRANKFURT: If a generalization can be made from Day One at Musikmesse, it's that Europeans seem more interested in technical styles of guitar playing than Americans currently are. In other words, there were plenty of shredders ripping through in-booth product demonstrations on guitars with slim necks, 24 frets, and Floyd Rose-style bridges. That's not to say that shredding isn't alive in the U.S. But at the moment, many young Stateside players seem more interested in using Ibanez guitars and amp modeling technology to achieve mind-blowing effects and low-end domination in the fashion of Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Marilyn Manson. Even more striking, however, is the keen interest in technical styles of acoustic guitar playing - classical guitar in particular. In the States, classical guitarists are few and far between. But at the Musikmesse it's hard to turn a corner without hearing one . . . and good ones at that. So as you might imagine, tons of innovative products at this show were dedicated to amplifying acoustic instruments. Interestingly, Ibanez was also on hand to emphasize its new piezo-equipped dual-purpose shredder guitar. Acoustic/electric guitar equipment is not new. But what makes these products innovative is that they are sounding better and better. And better yet, many of them require little or no modification to the guitar. This means you don't have to hack up your pre-war Martin to use at gigs. Plus, fewer modifications means the design of the guitar isn't compromised - and that benefits the sound even more. Today's installment, therefore, focuses on . . . Acoustic/Electric Products
Amplifiers
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