Halloween is creeping up on us. If you still don’t have a costume, don’t panic – you can find plenty of costume inspiration from your favorite musicians!
Here are some easy costumes you can put together to channel your inner rock star this Halloween:
Slash
The legendary guitarist of Guns ‘n Roses is a masterclass in signature style.
To dress as Slash, just grab a top hat, a black T-shirt, some beaded bracelets, and shades.
To dress up like him for Halloween, you’ll need a schoolboy jacket (an oversized blazer will work), shorts, a tie, and crew socks. Top it off with a schoolboy style pageboy hat. Stage antics are not included.
To channel your inner Hendrix for Halloween, grab a pair of bell bottom or flair pants, a patterned button down shirt, leather boots, and a headband. Bonus points for a ‘60s style fringe or military jacket.
Joan Jett
Dress as the Queen of Rock ‘n Roll with a few key pieces this Halloween – a black leather jacket, black pants or leggings, black or sneakers, and black eyeliner.
Freddie Mercury
The lead singer of Queen had lots of iconic looks, but his 1985 performance for Live Aid produced one that’s both instantly recognizable and easy to copy.
Just grab a white tank top, light wash jeans, a belt, and a studded armband. Sunglasses and a fake mustache complete the look.
Stevie Nicks
For a costume right out of your “Dreams”, dress as this beloved Fleetwood Mac singer.
You’ll need a black dress, black boots, a shawl (or several!) and a memorable hat. Carry a tambourine and the look is complete!
https://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/19183854/Dress-Like-Slash-2.jpg10801080Kaley Lynchhttps://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo.pngKaley Lynch2022-10-20 17:41:252022-10-20 17:41:25Last minute Halloween costume ideas for dressing like a rock star
Summer 2022 is officially over! We added lots of new guitar lessons, from ABBA to The Weekend. Here are the new lessons on Fret Zealot that were the most popular this summer.
Shane tried out the Gibson Tribute Les Paul and SG, available from the Fret Zealot store with the Fret Zealot system installed.
Here’s what he thought:
“We’re going to be diving in and exploring the legacy of tone that goes behind these fantastic instruments.
Both of these guitars feature vintage deluxe tuners and classic Gibson Tune-o-matic bridges. both are 22 frets the same scale length, 24.75”, with medium jumbo frets. They come stock with Gibson strings – 10s and 490 humbuckers. The SG has black humbuckers and Les Paul has silver humbucker covers. They’re modern renditions of classic instruments, they’ve been around since the 1950s and 60s.
They’re tried and true, the Gibson legacy – this is what you’re looking for in a premium instrument. The build quality, construction and Gibson name that they bear – it’s really fun to have these in stock here at Fret Zealot.
The SG is a walnut finish and the Les Paul is a beautiful sunburst finish. As far as modern updates, the Les Paul has great balance and chambering in the body to give you a little weight relief. It has the sustain and tone you love to hear from these instruments. Let’s walk you through the pickup selections of different tones and how they sound through an amplifier, clean and distorted.
I would say the Les Paul sustains for days. It’s a real tone machine, I was shocked by the diversity of tones you can get out of this instrument. You really hear a major difference between the bridge versus the neck pickup selection. It gives you this crazy range for rock and heavier music, but I enjoyed using it for blues and jazz as well. The way it feels, it bounces and brings me back. I think it goes the job you expect from a tribute guitar, it really is a perfect homage to the era this guitar came from which is the 1950s. It sounds beautiful, the wood quality is incredible. I love the sunburst finish. It’s an awesome guitar all around, and I think it’s super worth venturing for when you’re looking for a premium level guitar.
One of the biggest distinctions for the SG is the all that goes into the playability of this instrument and the comfort level of your hands moving up and down the neck. It’s unmistakably different especially in the upper range on the fretboard, it has so much good fret access here thanks to the body shape. It’s all neck up until it reaches the body, it’s super comfortable. I haven’t had too many opportunities to play an SG this nice, and I’m inspired on how this can serve you, especially if you’re playing lead riffs or moving up the fretboard and wanting to access the higher frets. I see this as a really nice lead guitarist instrument as well.
It’s interesting to compare the tone – they are both equipped with the same humbuckers.
The SG, in my opinion, has a bit more grittiness and sizzle to it when you’re using gain.
You’re really just hearing the tonality of the design, the wood, the quality materials that went into building these guitars. Both have vintage deluxe tuners which are really nice and will keep your guitar tuned for a long time. It’s got the traditional Gibson headstock design, it’s tilted back to give the guitar that extra bit of resonance. It’s part of the magic that goes into the Gibson tone. Both guitars have Graph Tech nuts so the tuning stability and playability is excellent. Gibson has really stayed with the tried and true design. Both guitars are really living up to that tribute name, they are a tribute to the origin of Gibson and the first time these guitars were coming out on the market, which was the 1950s for the Les Paul and the 1960s for the SG. You can see the development and design that went into each one.
I love the tone and the feel of the Les Paul and I love the sound and the playability of the SG, it’s almost an update in the design focus in terms of what they want to do.
Some words I’d use to describe the Les Paul are comfort, tone, variety, and the deepest legacy.
It’s the older brother of the two.
The SG is spry, snappy, speedy – it’s like the rambunctious younger brother of the Les Paul in terms of the tone. It’s got this zippiness to it and a little bit more of a sports car kind of feel. If you’re stuck in the middle of what to get hopefully that added a little color for you.
In addition to the Gibson legacy guitar, it comes with a really nice gig bag, they kind of went with a designer bag aesthetic with backpack straps and handles, and a thickly padded interior. You can purchase these guitars and any playing needs on our website. We also have courses and LED systems for learning how to play any song you want with our course libraries and songs on the Fret Zealot app.
These really are the tribute to the beautiful legacy that Gibson continues today.”
https://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/13204522/1469974_Gibsonreviewthumbnail-Opt01_V1_100522.jpg7201280Kaley Lynchhttps://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo.pngKaley Lynch2022-10-17 13:17:362022-10-17 13:17:36REVIEW: Gibson Tribute series – Les Paul and SG
If you’re just starting out on your guitar journey, alternative/alternate tunings can seem daunting. However, tunings outside of the standard EBGDAE can make it easier to play riffs and power chords in the open position. It can help your chords sound fuller and more open, which is why they’re used so often in rock music.
You may find that some of the songs by your favorite artists are played in alternative tuning – like “Numb” by Linkin Park (Drop D), “All Apologies” by Nirvana (Drop C#), or “Animal I Have Become” by Three Days Grace (Drop C). Mastering alternative tuning can help you spark your creativity and create brand new sounds in your playing style.
Common types of alternative tuning
Drop D tuning
Tuning your guitar to Drop D is popular in heavy metal and hard rock, thanks to giving the guitar a heavier and darker quality. To tune to Drop D, just lower the low E string one full step to D.
Drop C# tuning involves tuning your guitar a half-step down from Drop D. While in Drop C# tuning, your strings will be C#, G#, C#, F#, A#, and D#. This tuning provides a deep, textured tone that’s great for metal and grunge.
Drop C tuning starts with tuning the low “E” string down to C, but unlike Drop D tuning, all six strings must be tuned down. The rest of the strings get tuned down one whole step, so your tuning will be C — G — C — F — A — D.
This tuning involves tuning all six strings down one half-step, starting with the low “E” string (to E♭). The lower tuning makes it easier to bend notes thanks to reduced tension on the strings. It can also make it easier for singers to hit notes by slightly lowering the pitch.
This tuning has the high and low “E” strings tuned down to D and the “B” string tuned down to A. It’s commonly used in Celtic music, although it can also be found in rock, metal, and folk music.
If you’re new to guitar, you’re probably wondering “what is a guitar capo?”
A capo is a small guitar accessory – a clamp which is placed across the frets on an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar. It shortens the guitar string lengths, raising their sound. It’s an easy way to play in a higher key without having to use more difficult chord shapes or alternative tuning. It’s great for beginners who haven’t yet mastered barre chords, since the capo itself acts as a “barre”.
If you’re a singer, you can use a capo to easily transpose a song into a register that better fits your voice.
Some songs will call for “Capo 1”, “Capo 2”, etc. This means to clip the capo onto all six strings at the fret specified – so if a song calls for “Capo 4”, clip the capo horizontally across all six strings on the fourth fret.
History
Capo takes its name from the Italian word “capotasto” – “capo” is “head” and “tasto” is “key or fret”. The first known version of a capo originated in the 1700s, and was made out of a single piece of metal that was slipped onto the side of an instrument. The first patent for a capo was filed by a Connecticut luthier in 1850.
Use by artists
Capos are frequently used in pop, rock, blues, folk and flamenco music.
Here’s a small list of artists who use or used capos:
https://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/03170816/Capo.jpg10001602Kaley Lynchhttps://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo.pngKaley Lynch2022-10-03 17:21:202022-10-03 17:42:36What’s a guitar capo – and why do you need it?
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