TransPerformance has created a computerized system called The Performer for tuning a guitar. The Performer installs into the guitar and provides one-touch tuning through a new bridge and tailpiece assembly that includes motors attached to each string. At the touch of a button or a footswitch, the strings are adjusted to the appropriate pitch. A photo of the rear of a guitar with the system installed can be found on News.com. According to TransPerformance, the system will work with any standard-bodied guitar, such as a Les Paul or a Stratocaster.

The Derek Trucks Band have announced that they will be releasing a new album on February 21, 2006, named Songlines. If you don’t know who Derek Trucks is, he’s related to Butch Trucks, who is the drummer for the Allman Brothers Band, and he’s currently playing guitar in the Allman Brothers, in addition to fronting his own band. He’s also married to Susan Tedeschi, and played guitar on her latest album, Hope and Desire. The Derek Trucks Band have released several albums thus far: Derek Trucks, Out of the Madness, Joyful Noise, Soul Serenade, and Live at Georgia Theater. Songlines will include vocals by new singer Mike Mattison and will be what the band describes as their most cohesive album to date.

This week at the Consumer Electronics Show, the Gibson Custom Shop introduced the Jimi Hendrix Psychedelic Flying V guitar, the first guitar in Gibson’s new Inspired By series of guitars. The Hendrix guitar is a replica of the guitar that he used on tour in 1967 and 1968 and includes a psychedelic paint job that is reproduced from that guitar that Jimi handpainted himself.

The Gibson Custom Shop will be debuting other guitars in the Inspired By series later this year, such as the Peter Frampton Les Paul Special.

I recently discovered the site GuitarGeek.com. One of the cool features of GuitarGeek.com is a list of guitar rigs used by famous guitarists, including schematics of the setup. For example, you can see Steve Vai’s guitar setup from 1999, Joe Satriani’s setup from 2000, Eric Clapton’s Bluesbreakers setup, as well as many more. If you’ve ever wondered what setup your favorite guitar player is using, then you should check out GuitarGeek.com.

This past December, Paul Reed Smith Guitars released several new guitars in their affordable SE series:

• SE Singlecut
• SE Custom
• SE Soapbar II Maple
• SE Standard

These guitars feature a 25″ scale length, and PRS designed pickups.

Guitarist Robert Fripp, one of the founders of King Crimson, was recently at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, WA recording new sounds for Microsoft’s new operating system being released later this year, Windows Vista. Some of Fripp’s session was recorded for Microsoft’s Channel 9 developer Web site, where you can watch video from the session.

Review: John Mayer Trio: Try! Live in Concert 4.5 out of 5 stars

The latest album by John Mayer is a live album featuring John Mayer with only two other band members, Steve Jordan playing drums and Pino Palladino on the bass. This album is quite a departure from his studio recordings. Most of the music on this album is much bluesier than his studio albums. This album also more prominently features Mayer’s guitar playing, which has been much heralded, but arguably not heard very much on his studio recordings.

John Mayer has often been mentioned as citing Stevie Ray Vaughan as one of his guitar heroes, and this album clearly shows that influence. The album starts off with Mayer’s Stratocaster playing the intro to “Who Did You Think I Was,” which is an introduction to the rest of the songs on the album. Many of the other songs on the album feature a similar feel, with a few slower songs mixed in. However, even the slower songs manage to highlight Mayer’s guitar playing. Another highlight is “I Got a Woman,” a song originally written by Ray Charles. Mayer plays his recent hit “Daughters” and does a nice job jazzing it up enough so that it fits in with the rest of the album quite nicely. 

John Mayer Trio: Try! is an excellent album featuring John Mayer’s guitar playing and the tight rhythm section of Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino. I’d highly recommend picking up this album if you’re a fan of blues/rock music.

Review: Sabine Metrotune MT9000  4 out of 5 stars

Recently, I was taking classical guitar lessons from a local guitar teacher, and he recommended the Sabine Metrotune MT9000 tuner to me. I already had a Yamaha YT-2200 chromatic tuner that I like quite a bit, so I wasn’t sure whether I needed a new tuner or not. However, after seeing the Sabine tuner and using it during the lesson, I immediately saw the advantages of it. Not only is the MT9000 a chromatic tuner, it is also a metronome. The metronome itself is really nice, as it allows you to easily adjust the tempo with a touch of a button. The interface is very large and easily lets you view the current note when in tuner mode or the current tempo when in metronome mode. In addition to the metronome and tuning capabilities, this device also includes a tone generator. A handy case was also included that helps protect the tuner when not in use.

If you’re in the market for a guitar tuner, then I’d recommend taking a look at the Sabine Metrotune MT9000.

GraphicGuitars.com is a site featuring prints of unique guitar art work by Paul Chase. Recently, Mr. Chase displayed his work at a local event, so I had the opportunity to see many of them in person. The pieces were all very nice, and he has created a variety of guitar scenarios to choose from. Brad Paisley liked his work so much, he recently commissioned a piece by him. It looks like GraphicGuitars.com is in the process of being redesigned, but many of Mr. Chase’s guitar prints are available for viewing.

Fender Musical Instruments has recently released a John Mayer Signature Series Stratocaster guitar. The guitar comes with an alder body, C-shaped maple neck, African rosewood fretboard, and three “Big Dipper” single-coil pickups.

The Fender Custom Shop has also created a John Mayer Custom Shop guitar to coincide with the release of Mayer’s most recent album Try!. The guitar is being given away free by Fender in a contest that ends on January 31, 2006. Only 3 of these guitars were made. Mayer worked with Custom Shop Master Builder John Cruz to create the guitar, which features a reverse headstock and custom electronics.