John Tuggle, in his article on practicing:

In front of the TV with a twinkie in one hand and a Dr Pepper by your side, checking your smartphone for who commented on your recent monumental Facebook post is NOT practicing. Of course this is an exaggeration, but I think similar situations happen to many people.

If you’re serious about getting better, then go in a room by yourself and spend 30 minutes concentrating on becoming a better guitarist. These 30 minutes by yourself will do much more for you than the situation I just described above.

If you think you don’t have enough time to practice, then try not to spend so much time on guitar forums researching the tone differences between different pots. In reality, it’s not going to make that much of a difference. I know a lot of you are busy, but I think time can be found if you are willing to sacrifice some things such as TV time or Internet browsing.

Ouch! Sound familiar? It does to me. In his article, Tuggle offers some good advice on getting out of a rut if you’ve found yourself “practicing” but not getting any better.

I haven’t seen much information about it, but it seems that Gibson has recently produced a limited number of Derek Trucks Signature SG guitars. The guitar is spec’d similarly to Gibson’s ’61 Reissue SG with a few special appointments. For example, the Trucks Signature SG includes a Lyre tailpiece like that seem on Trucks’ own guitar. The pickguard has also been removed to match the guitar that Trucks is most known for. The headstock includes a 50th anniversary graphic to mark the 50th anniversary of the ’61 SG.

The full specs of the guitar are:

• Mahogany Body
• Heritage Cherry finish
• Mahogany Neck
• Rosewood Fretboard
• 22 frets
• 2 Gibson ’57 Classic Humbucker
• 2 Volume, 2 Tone controls
• Chrome Hardware
• Includes Gibson Case

The guitar has a street price of $1699 and is available at Musicians Friend, Guitar Center, and Music 123.

“I love playing music, and these are tools to play music on. That’s all they are really.”

This is an excellent Paul Reed Smith interview with Harmony Central from 2009. He talks about his repair days, how he came up with the familiar PRS guitar shape, their process for dealing with wood, and why PRS started making their own pickups.

Speaking of Oz Noy, Premier Guitar magazine features an interview with Noy in the January 2012 issue. The interview covers Noy’s beginnings as a guitarist, his use of effects, as well as details about his latest album Twisted Blues Vol. 1. Also included in the article is comments about Noy from Eric Johnson, Steve Lukather, Keith Carlock, Will Lee, and Roscoe Beck.

I always seem to have something going on when Oz Noy performs here in Nashville. This year was no exception, so I missed his performance a few weeks ago. As I say every time, hopefully I’ll be able to catch his show the next time he travels through town. In the meantime, check out this video of Noy performing here in Nashville with Michael Rhodes on bass and Keith Carlock on drums:

Editor’s note: This is a guest post written by my friend and fellow guitar blogger Jim. You can visit Jim’s blog to read more posts like this one. Photo credit: jmtimages (Creative Commons)

You’ve been a good little guitarist all year long; it’s time for Santa to reward you. Not sure what to ask for? All of these gifts are under $50.00, so even if Santa does not deliver, keep this list in mind if some Christmas money comes your way.

A Spider Capo is an incredibly useful device to spice up your guitar playing. This capo is different from all others, as you can take the capo off of each individual string.

Guitar strings are always a fantastic gift. Can you ever have too many guitar strings? I don’t think so. You will always need more sets of guitar strings.

Guitar picks are the easiest way to spice up your tone. I recommend trying some new picks; you might be pleasantly surprised with the results. I’m a big fan of the new Dunlop Tortex Jazz III picks. (The sharp point seems to increase accuracy and speed.) For $3-4 bucks, why not give them a shot?

A slide or assortment of slides is a great gift idea as well.

The Vox Amplug is a cool little mini amplifier that comes in 7 different flavors from acoustic guitar to Vox AC30 to a special Joe Satriani headphone amp.

A tuner is always a handy thing to have. Whether it be a stomp box tuner or a headstock tuner, you can’t go wrong with having another tuner. The audience will thank you for it too.

A metronome is another great idea. I found this metronome that is also a tuner. Talk about the best of both worlds.

A cool effects pedal like a Digitech Bad Monkey or a Boss Super Overdrive could be a great choice. I’ll admit it; there is nothing like the instant gratification of stomping on a new effects pedal.

I hope you get some great ideas from this list and you are able to share some of your music with others this holiday season. Have a Merry Rockin’ Christmas!

I love it when people get creative with their Christmas lights. I’m not sure how Slayer’s song “South of Heaven” fits in with the theme of Christmas, but I like the creativity here, especially the fact that the snowman is singing the song:

(via Guitar Noize)

I’m not sure what the point of an eight-neck guitar is, but it makes for an interesting video. It does beg the question: If a guitar requires a ladder to play, is it really a guitar?