For those who record their own music tracks, whether for fun, professionally, or in the hopes of starting a new professions, a music sequencer can play a vital role. The definition of the term has changed over time and with the development of new technology that is now standard in the music industry, such as the musical instrument digital interface or MIDI.

The changing definition of the sequencer

Since the production of electronic music was first started, sequencers were any devices which recorded information from electronic musical instruments and then played it back to the mixer, musician, or composer. For this reason, sequencers have always been a vital component in devices such as drum machines, keyboards, synthesizers, digital pianos and even music software.

Today, the use of midi sequencer data has cast the role of sequencers in an entirely different scenario. The synced data from the MIDI when read by the sequencer is an important step in a composer’s journey towards putting together an overall piece of music; the use of the MIDI also allows a substantial amount of time to be cut out of the process of creating a specific sound and making sure that vital pieces are not cut out simply due to human error.

Choosing a sequencer

As advanced technology, sequencers are not cheap and not all are created equal. Generally, a music sequencer can be purchased built into workstations or as part of an assemble-yourself project. There are some important things to keep in mind when selecting a sequencer.

1) Is the sequencer right for your musical style? Mixers, engineers, and producers will ensure anyone that piecing together a composition which involved a multitude of musically voices is every bit as intricate as writing the music in the first place. Putting together a piece is a work of art unto itself, not unlike assembling a mosaic, only with tone instead of tesserae. Putting the piece together requires a certain feel to the process, even though to the untrained eye the feel may be about a bunch of lines and graphics on a screen. Therefore, potential buyers of sequencers should make sure they are comfortable with the feel of the sequencer they invest in.

2) Is the audio sequencer user friendly? Like any hardware, sequencers come in varying degrees when it comes to ease of use. Advanced mixers might enjoy the challenge of figuring out various layered functions on their investment, but others may prefer a straightforward approach to the mixing process. Keep in mind here that as a general rule, more complicated processes will yield higher results in the end. User friendly features will include items like the graphics interface and the ease of selection (ie, just a click of the mouse, or do you have to push a combination of buttons on your keyboard?)

3) Is this model reliable? Like any piece of technology, sequencers are prone to bugs. Some companies have just been more successful in preventing bugs from messing up the reliability of their sequencers than others. Some of the names that come up time and time again in terms of reliable sequencers are Cakewalk and LogicExpress as well as yamaha sequencer.

All sequencers will need to be used in tandem with samplers. The compatibility between your music sequencer and your sampler will also be a major consideration in your purchase.

For more information visit: music sequencers or to buy sequencers online.

If you’re in search of information on guitar sales, how to buy a guitar or how to buy a bass guitar, there are some points you should take into consideration before you part with your hard earned cash. Whether you buy new or used, these steps should be taken in order to avoid disappointment. So, ‘how to buy a guitar’ is a question easily answered if you do the following.

1. Play the guitar
2. Inspect for cracks, dents and scratches
3. Test the neck for strength and twist
4. Sight the neck for straightness
5. Check a bolt-on neck’s alignment
6. Inspect the nut’s shape, slots and action
7. Check the fret condition and height
8. Make sure the truss rod works
9. Check the bridge and tailpiece
10. Check the tuning keys
11. Make sure the hardware is secure
12. Check the electronics

If you follow these steps, your questions about what to look for at ‘guitar sales’, ‘how to buy a guitar’ or ‘how to buy a bass guitar’ will be quickly answered. The rules for either are the same.

Here some more excellent tips on how to buy a guitar, when investigating a guitar for sale, from Dan Cross:

Have patience - do not decide you HAVE to buy the guitar that day. Plan on taking at least two trips to the music store.
Maintain control - You are in charge! Don’t let music store salesmen intimidate you.
Research - The web is a great place to find info on guitars. Use it to your advantage!
Get help - if at all possible, recruit a friend who plays guitar to help you choose an instrument. If not, don’t be afraid to ask music store employees multiple questions.

You do not have to be an expert guitarist to get a good deal on a good guitar at a guitar sale. What you do have to be is a disciplined shopper.

For many guitarists, especially novices, trying out a guitar in a music store can be an intimidating experience. Invariably, there are several other guitarists in the store who feel the need to show off their skills on the instrument, by playing all their most impressive licks. Understandably, this can be scary, but you’ll need to focus on your goal - finding the best instrument possible, for the least money.

Scan the store until you find an instrument that appeals to you. Make sure you are given a good stool, and a pick (although I suggest you bring one you’re comfortable with). If you’re looking at electric guitar sales and playing an electric guitar, make sure you’re plugged into an amp similar to the one you plan to use. If you’ve only got a small practice amp at home, don’t allow the guitar to be plugged into a Marshall half-stack through a rack of pedals.

The first few times I tried out a guitar in a music store, I remember playing very quietly so no one would hear that I wasn’t very good. A perfectly natural instinct, but in retrospect I’ve realized it was the silliest thing I could have done. In order to really hear the tonal qualities of a guitar (either electric or acoustic), it needs to be played at a reasonable volume. Do not be afraid to strum the open strings hard - listening to the guitar’s sustain, and keeping an ear open for problems like buzzing strings. If you’re having a hard time hearing (due to other guitarists in the store, etc.), ask to play the guitar in a separate room, or in a quieter part of the store. It should be noted I’ve been in music stores where owners glared at me for turning up the guitar a little, or strumming an acoustic vigorously. My solution to the problem - I hand them the guitar, say thanks, and take my business to a store that allows me to find out what the guitar sounds like before I buy it. I urge you to do the same… these people are obviously not very familiar with the way guitars work, thus not the best stores to deal with anyway.

Let’s look for a moment at guitar makers and manufacturers and which are at the top of the heap. Probably the 3 most widely known and respected guitar makers are Martin, Gibson and Fender guitars. These manufacturers have been a huge part of the industry for decades and their reputations speak for themselves. Martin guitars however, are slightly different than Gibson guitars or fender guitars in that they don’t make electric guitars, per say but only acoustic and acoustic-electric models. Hopefully, before you start hunting down the guitar sales in your local area you’ll learn these simple steps. For more information, visit this article at Guitar Sales.

There are many different ways to approach guitar tuning. We’ll touch on a couple of the more effective methods on how to tune a guitar. Not necessarily the most popular as some methods, though extensively used, are considered ‘bad habits’ rather than genuine, effective guitar tuning alternatives.

The guitar standard tuning is as follows:

STRING - 6th String (bottom, bass, low) NOTE - E
5th String - A
4th String - D
3rd String - G
2nd String - B
1st String (top, treble, high) - E

Tips For Any Guitar Tuning Method

First, lets cover a few things that every player should know when taking the proper approach to guitar tuning and how to learn to tune guitar.

Learn to attach the strings to the machine heads properly. Never try to tune down to a note. Stretch the strings and tune up to the note. Tuning heads have a certain amount of ‘play’ in them so make a couple of deep bends and then fine tune the string. Before tuning a suspect string, check it against both adjacent strings to determine which string is actually out of tune. The string you suspect may not even be the culprit. When tuning a guitar with a vibrato arm, tune the string, give the arm a good shake, stretch the string, give the arm another shake and fine tune.

Veterans of guitar playing will already know these things so if you’re a beginner and just learning to play the guitar, you’re already ahead of the game if you implement these practices into your routine. For a great tool visit Guitar Tuner.

Here’s A Quick Method For Guitar Tuning

Tune the treble (high) E string to an A440 tuning fork by holding your finger on the 5th fret, then tune the open B string to the open treble E string – listening to the interval of a fourth. It’s easy to hear the fourth in that register.

Play the A note fretted at the 2nd fret of the G string, and compare it to the open treble E string – you’re listening for a perfect fifth interval.

Fret the 2nd fret E note on the D string and compare it to the treble E string open. Double check this by fretting the E note on the 14th fret of the D string.

Now tune the 7th fret harmonic on the A string (an E note) to the open treble E string.

Finally, tune the 5th fret harmonic on the bass E string to the open treble E string.

This is a simple guitar tuning method that works well.

Album of the Year
Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace
Vince Gill - These Days
Herbie Hancock - River: The Joni Letters
Kanye West - Graduation
Amy Winehouse - Back in Black

These are the records that were sweeping the nation, that were playing out car stereos and defining music across generations. Does that jive with you? Does that make you feel inspired about the state of the art form? Are these the essential records that you feel empty and vacant without?

You know what? I’m feeling positive for some reason, so I’m not even going to dwell on the negatives of the nominations list (to name a few: the woeful lack of Springsteen, Kanye not submitting “Stronger” for Record/Song of the Year, and nothing from Fall Out Boy or My Chemical Romance - arguably the two most relevant rock bands for today’s teens). In an attempt to remedy mediocrity through ignorance, here’s the nominations that you, McNutt Against the Music reader, might almost/sorta/kinda give a damn about.

Kanye/Winehouse domination: Kanye West leads the pack with eight nominations, including best album and several nominations in the rap categories. He’s got to be considered the frontrunner for the big one - considering he deserved it for each of his last two records and lost - and is bound to be performing at the show. Less likely to be performing (because of, you know, the drugs) but equally likely to take home hardware is Amy Winehouse, with six nominations including Album of the Year, Best New Artist and several noms in the pop categories.

Record of the Year: While Song of the Year trades out for some weaker entries, Record of the Year is a strong (if incredibly mainstream) category. “Irreplacable,” “The Pretender,” “Umbrella,” “What Goes Around…Comes Around” and “Rehab” may all be more than a little bit ubiquitous, but stand up well compared to a lot of 2007’s other pop hits. It could have been much, much worse (looking at you, Fergie…)

“Best New Artist” nominee Feist: Sure, we’ve all been loving Feist since the ‘Scene released You Forgot It In People in 2002, but if Steve Jobs has convinced the Grammy Awards that she’s a “new” artist, so be it. She’s also up for Best Video and a couple of nominations in the pop categories that she might have a chance of winning if Grammy voters don’t want to see a coked-up Winehouse on their stage. Strangely, Feist was absent from the Best Alternative Album category, equally odd because…

The always-dependable Best Alternative Album category: The Recording Academy inexplicably considered Lily Allen, of all people, to have made an “alternative” album with Alirght, Still. It’s a good record, but feels completely out of place compared to the rest of the category. With apologies to Bjork’s Volta and The Shins’ Wincing the Night Away, this will be another showdown between The White Stripes (Icky Thump) and Arcade Fire (Neon Bible). Two years ago the Stripes won the duel, but does the Fire juggarnaut have enough momentum now to steamroll over the Red and White Brigade?

Wilco Rocks: The Stripes didn’t get a nomination for Rock Album, though. In their place? Wilco. Methinks I could find many an indie nerd who would not consider Sky Blue Sky a “rock” album in the slightest, but hey, good for the lads.

The Dance Categories: There’s only two of them - song and album - but deserving nominations for Justice in both categories, along with songs from JT (”Lovestoned”) and Rihanna (”Don’t Stop the Music”) and LCD Soundsystem’s quite-excellent Sound of Silver.

Spoken Word Album: Barack Obama is catching up in the presidential polls, and now he’s hoping to catch up to Hillary in the Grammy Award count. Hillary won this category in 1997, and Obama’s recording of The Audacity of Hope “hopes” to event the score. Standing in his way? Hillary’s husband.

Best Music Video: In the short form category, there’s great videos from Feist and Justice, but the long form? The increasingly-bizarre “Trapped in the Closet - Chapters 13-22.” Awesome.

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A First Run Limited Edition
On December 7, 2007, Gibson will change the guitar world forever. Again.

True to the spirit of innovation that inspired Gibson to invent the legendary Tune-o-matic bridge, the powerful humbucker, and the revolutionary Digital Les Paul, Gibson proudly presents the Gibson Robot Guitar—the world’s first guitar with robotic technology.

Since the dawn of the instrument, musicians have come to accept the guitar’s imperfections and lack of tonal precision as necessary evils. Onstage and off, guitarists have fought to stay in tune. Every music lover and performer has had to suffer through the show—halting, mood-killing atonal droning of a loudly amped guitar being brought into tune. And in the studio, or at home, imprecise intonation throws the guitar in and out of tune, up and down the neck, as the instrument requires tweaking with each season and at times with each string change.

For as long as the guitar has existed, guitar lovers have had two choices—live with a temperamental and out-of-tune instrument or make frequent trips to the shop for setups. Not anymore.

Introducing the Gibson Robot Guitar. All you have to do is play it.

For more information on the amazing features, virtual tours, videos and more visit www.gibson.com

| Guitar Musician | Gear Musician | Piano Musician |

In Select Stores December 7, 2007First Run Limited Edition, only 10 per store

Url: http://www.guitarmusician.com
Austin, Texas – Open Labs, the leading designer and developer of computer based music production solutions, introduced the Timbaland Special Edition MiKo keyboard workcenter today. Building on the standard features of the MiKo LX, an all-in-one portable studio powered by Windows™ XP that is capable of running virtually any Windows XP compatible software including a variety of DAW software, virtual instruments (VSTi), virtual effects (VST) and other music applications, the Timbaland Special Edition takes this robust instrument to an entirely new level of performance and creativity.

Dressed in an all-new Arctic White Chassis color scheme, the Timbaland Special Edition MiKo will stand out in any crowd. The Timbaland Special Edition MiKo features E-MU™’s new Proteus™ X2 Streaming Sound Module V2.5 with over 7,000 instruments, including the new Ensoniq™ Urban Legends™ Sound Library that contains the sounds from Ensoniq’s ASR™/EPS™/MR™/ASR-X™/ZR™ instruments. These sounds were specifically requested by Timbaland, and are only available in the Timbaland MiKo, an Open Labs exclusive.

- E-MU™ Proteus™ 2000
- E-MU™ Mo’Phatt™
- E-MU™ Modular System™
- Ensoniq™ EPS™ /EPS 16+™
- Ensoniq ASR 10™
- Ensoniq ASR-X™
- Ensoniq ZR76™
- Ensoniq MR61™
- ARP™ 2600™
- ARP™ Axxe™
- Roland™ JD800™
- Roland™ Jupiter 8™
- Roland™ JX-8P™
- Roland™ TB-303 Bass Line™
- Roland™ Juno 60™
- Moog™ Memorymoog™
- Mini™ Moog™
- Moog™ Taurus Pedals™
- Sequential Circuits™ Prophet 10™
- Sequential Circuits™ Prophet 600™
- Elka™ Rhapsody™
- Mellotron™ Mark II™
- Korg™ MS20™
- Solina™
- Oberheim™ OB™ & X™
- Hammond™ B3™
- Rhodes™ Electric Piano™
- Hohner™ Clavinet™
- Yamaha™ CP-70™
- Wurlitzer™ Electric Piano™

Running within the new Proteus X 2.5 environment, these keyboards are reborn inside the Timbaland Special Edition MiKo providing world-class audio quality, choice of instruments, ease of use and represents a value of over $60,000 if the actual keyboards were purchased individually.

When combined with the new Open Labs sound library V4, the Timbaland Edition MiKo contains over 24-gigabytes of premium sounds, constituting 25,027 presets. The street price for the bundled software and sound libraries is $2,967, which includes $487 worth of Open Labs Special Edition plugins, optimized by the software developers for use with the MiKo.

“I’ve made the new Timbaland Special Edition MiKo with Tim’s Touch,” said Timbaland, “It’s got everything I need in a single box and when I use it, we make masterpieces.”

“Timbaland is really on top of the world right now. His music is everywhere,” said President of Open Labs, Victor Wong. “To think that he is using our gear to produce these hits is cool, but the fact that he has put a little bit of himself into the MiKo, making it an even better instrument, is incredible. This is all very exciting for us.”

“We are honored that Timbaland asked us to help create his ultimate instrument,” said E-MU’s Senior Product Manager, Ichi Nagai. “We are excited to put together the exclusive Ensoniq Urban Legends Sound Library for Open Labs that contains many of Timbaland’s favorite sounds that he’s used in his work over the years.”

The Timbaland Special Edition MiKo will start shipping on August 15, 2007. The estimated street price is: $3,899 and includes the following:

Timbaland Special Edition MiKo Technical Specifications:

Keyboard:
37-key semi-weighted synth action keyboard (World class Fatar® Technology)

CPU:
Core2 Duo® Dual-core 64-bits (2.1GHz)

Control Surfaces:
Pitch Bend and Modulation Wheels, Trackpad with 2 Buttons, Keyboard (“QWERTY”) Module, Alpha Control Module (5 Faders, 5 Modes Buttons, 3 Transpose Buttons, 5 Directions Buttons and 5 Transport Buttons), DJ Module: Penny and Giles® Cross-Fader, 7 Knobs and 12 Buttons

Memory:
4GB RAM

Expansion Slots:
(3) PCI Slots (2 avail. for upgrades), (3) PCI-E Slots (2 avail. for upgrades), (2) 3.5” Bays: (1) Start Up Drive and (1) Available for Upgrades, (1) 5.25” Dual-Layer DVD-RW burner (8.5GB/disc)

Audio I/O:
(1) High Performance Audio I/O Card with Low Latency including 24-bit/96kHz professional 4-in/6-out : (2) mic/instrument preamp inputs (with Phantom Power 48V), (2) analog line inputs, (6) analog line outputs, S/PDIF digital I/O (coaxial)

Storage:
MiKo LX (1) 250GB, 7200RPM HD; Upgradeable to 1.5 Terabytes

Drive:
High Speed Dual-Layer 8.5GB/Disk CD/DVD Burner

Display:
Internal 15” Color Touch Screen LCD High Resolution (1024 x 768), External VGA port for running Dual Monitors or a Video Projector

Connection:
Midi In/Out, 1) Sustain and (1) Expression ports, 2) USB 2.0 ports, 3) (1) FireWire 400 port, 4) (1) Gigabit (10/100/1000) Ethernet port, 5) (1) Headphone Jack with Volume Control

Software:
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home, Open Labs Custom GUI (Graphic User Interface), Open Labs mFusion®, Open Labs Karsyn®, Open Labs MimiK (optional on SE Model), E-MU Proteus X2 Streaming Sound Module V2.5

PREMIUM Factory Sound Library V4:
25,027 presets (over 24GB of sounds) from over 60 virtual instruments including: including E-MU’s Ensoniq Urban Legends, Mo’Phatt X, Vintage X Pro Collection, Virtuoso X, and X2 Production Library, Truepianos, WusikStation V4, Extra Wusik Sound Libraries (Wusik Sound Magazine 1-13, HQ Strings, Choirs, GM), Purity, Sylenth 1, VB3 OL SE, Mr. Ray22, Mr. Ray73, Mr. Tramp, Organized Trio V3, Realguitar V2.1 OL SE, Discovery V2.10 OL SE, Vertigo V2.6 OL SE, HighLife V1.4, WIVI Trial Edt., Suburban Guitarist, Lollapalooza Lite OL SE, BB303i V2, Synth 1, Addictive Drums Demo, Ticky Clav, Delay Lama, Crystal V2.4, Sun RA, String Theory V1.5, Texture V1.2, Rez V2, Motion V2.8, Plugsound Free, Mini Dizi, Mini Erhu, EPiano Module, Rhodes Module, Bass Module, Rock, SFZ Player Free, Bass Line, UltraSonique V1.1, Syncoder 32-2, Spook Keys, Super Spook Keys, Cubix V1.0.1, Minimal V1.5, Optik V1.4, Pandemonium V2, X-Fortuna, Lazer Blade Free, Protoplasm 21 Free, STS-25 Free, Ph0ne, Rogue, MicroSynt, Artphase V1.5, Mr. Alias V1.02, Blood Bucket V1, Monolisa V1.12, String Synth, PhadiZ, Accordion.

Included Accessories:
AC Cord, Start Guide, Owner’s Manual (PDF), Motherboard Manual, 2 Open Labs Sounds and Drivers DVDs, 3 Utility CDs, 3 Reference Maps, 2.5mm Wrench, Additional Screws and Washers for Hard-Drive Upgrade

Power Supply:
500 Watt Power Supply, Whisper Quiet Cooling Fans (Internal Chassis, Processor & Power Supply)

Dimensions:
36”(W) X 20”(D) X 7”(H), Weight (base configuration) 35 lbs.

About Open Labs

Open Labs designs and markets tools for performing and recording musicians at every level of expertise. The company’s products, MiKo and NeKo, are the first keyboards and pro audio production stations to incorporate 64-bit computer processing technology into single-unit tools that can simultaneously play, record, mix, and master high-quality digital audio and effects. Open Labs, formed in 2002, combines decades of expertise in computer technology, keyboard technology, and product design. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit the Web site at www.openlabs.com

About E-MU Systems

E-MU Systems is a leading developer of digital audio products to serve musicians and audio professionals. E-MU designs, manufactures and markets software instruments, audio/MIDI interfaces, USB/MIDI controllers and powered reference monitors, many of which make use of proprietary VLSI/Chip technology and E-MU’s advanced software algorithms. Superb audio quality and consistent technical innovation have made its products the choice for quality-minded musicians worldwide. E-MU Systems is based in Scotts Valley, California. For more information visit www.emu.com

Trademark Notice: Open Labs® , MiKo™ mFusion™ MimiK and Karysyn™ are trademarks of Open Labs, Inc. E-Mu, Proteus, Mo’Phatt Ensoniq EPS, Ensoniq EPS 16+, Ensoniq ASR 10, Ensoniq ASR-X, Ensoniq ZR76, and Ensoniq MR61 are trademarks of E-Mu Systems. All other marks used to either identify another entity or its products by their given name. Open Labs makes no claims to the use of these marks for any other purpose.

Check out these great sites for products like the ones listed above:

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London, UK, September 10, 2007 — Legendary guitarist Bernie Marsden, whose brilliant career has seen him perform and record with artists including Whitesnake, Robert Plant, Ringo Starr, Cozy Powell and Deep Purple’s Ian Paice and Jon Lord, is one of the latest in a growing list of professional players to string his guitars with Elixir® Strings.Elixir® Strings, Marsden confides, are now his choice for both electric and acoustic guitars. In addition, he is turning more players on to Elixir® Strings, the pioneer of long-life strings.

Guitar Musician | Gear Musician | Piano Musician

On, you huskies! Fearless Fender clinicians, musicians and sound magicians Greg Koch (guitar), Reggie Hamilton (bass) and Tom Brechtlein (drums) are mushing it up to Canada in mid-November to rock the provinces with a weeklong slew of free in-store product workshops designed to bring the Fender love to the denizens of the world’s second-largest nation.

Co-sponsored by Fender and the Hal Leonard Corp., the five clinics feature virtuosic messieurs Koch, Hamilton and Brechtlein in spirited group and individual performances that extol the sonic virtues of Fender’s latest and greatest guitar, bass and amplifier product offerings, including the VG Stratocaster® guitar, American Vintage Hot Rod series guitars, Super-Sonic™ amp, Reggie Hamilton Jazz Bass® guitar and Pro Series bass amps.

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Clinic attendees can also enter a drawing for a Fender VG Stratocaster; the winner’s name will be drawn at the end of the tour. To attend, simply register by contacting the individual retailers listed below.

Tuesday, Nov. 13
Long & McQuade
North Vancouver, B.C.
www.long-mcquade.com

Wednesday, Nov. 16
Long & McQuade
Burlington, Ontario
www.long-mcquade.com

Thursday, Nov. 17
Long & McQuade
Markham, Ontario
www.long-mcquade.com

Friday, Nov. 18
Long & McQuade
Ottawa, Ontario
www.long-mcquade.com

Sunday, Nov. 20
Music Stop
Halifax, Nova Scotia
www.musicstop.com

Sean McDevitt | 11.06.2007

www.gibson.com

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The holder of a single lucky raffle ticket will own something that for many guitar aficionados is simply beyond imagination: a beautiful 2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard that’s signed by none other than Les Paul himself. To honor his late daughter and raise scholarship funds, Earl Hurrey of The National Association for Music Education’s is giving you a chance to win his autographed Les Paul Standard.

The raffle is a fundraiser for the Caitlin Merie Hurrey Memorial Scholarship Fund, named in honor of Caitlin Merie Hurrey, who was nine years old and in the fourth grade at Huntingtown Elementary School in Maryland when she died in an automobile accident on October 31, 1995. The fund, which honors Caitlin’s love of music and education, supports four scholarships annually.

The guitar is being raffled by Caitlin’s father, Earl Hurrey, who is the deputy executive director for business development of Reston, Virginia-based MENC: The National Association for Music Education. Hurrey calls the autographed Les Paul “one of my most prized possessions” and is raffling the guitar this year to mark what would have been Caitlin’s 21st birthday. He hopes to raise $25,000 for the scholarship fund by selling 1,000 raffle tickets for $25 each.

“I’d like to raffle this guitar rather then auction it because I would like all guitar players, regardless of income, to have the opportunity to win it,” Hurrey explains. “It will be a very special guitar for a deserving guitar player, and Caitlin would have wanted it that way.”

The guitar, a Heritage Cherry Sunburst design with a ’50s-style neck, is autographed on its pickguard. It was given to Hurrey by Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz just months after Les Paul’s 90th birthday concert, which took place in June 2005 at Carnegie Hall in New York.

“I had mentioned to Henry that I had been taking guitar lessons as a lifelong dream,” Hurrey recalls, “and that attending the concert gave me great incentive to work even harder at learning to play the guitar. Shortly after our conversation, I received the guitar as a gift from Henry. He said, ‘If you’re going to learn guitar, you might as well learn on the best guitar in the world.’”

The instrument is currently housed in a decorative display case on a wall in Hurrey’s home.

The Caitlin Fund was approved by MENC as part of MENC’s Fund for the Advancement of Music Education. It’s a 501(c) (3) charitable fund that supports the greater good of music education. All donations to the Caitlin Fund are 100% tax deductible.

For contest rules and regulations, click here.

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