- Of the hundreds of types of chords played in western music, you need only know 4 scales to solo over almost all of them (Major, Melodic Minor, Diminished, Whole Tone).


- Leo Fender sold Fender to CBS in 1965. He continued to work at Fender until 1970, at which point he became a partner of Music Man. Leo's personal cut from the CBS buyout was a whopping $13 million.


- When Fender shipped the Stratocaster in 1954, it created a lot of firsts. The Strat was the first to feature three pickups. It was the first to feature a whammy bar. It was also the first to include a jack in the front of the guitar's body.


- The world's first, commercially available solid body, electric guitar was the Fender Broadcaster. It only shipped in 1950. In 1951, Fender was forced to change its name to the Telecaster due to the claims that Gretsch previously had rights to the Broadcaster name.


- Ovation acoustic guitars were started in the late 1960's with a parabolic, fiberglass body. The shape/material was chosen due to its great sound. Charles Kaman, Ovation's founder, was worried that hardened guitarists wouldn't pick a guitar that was so untraditional. However, we still enjoy Ovation's products even today.


- In the 1930's, Epiphone was the most respected guitar company in America. Ironically, Epiphone was bought by Gibson in 1957, instead of the other way around.


- Scales are not only useful for building speed, but knowledge of scale theory will also help one with writing solos.


- It's very important to maintain and clean your guitars. Human oils and other grime can ruin your favorite possessions!


- No amp, guitar, or effect sounds better than any other. How good something sounds is subjective, and not a fact.


- Heat can damage guitars. Be sure to keep your guitars away from heat as much as possible!


- Use a metronome while practicing scales. It's better to build up your timing than inaccurate speed.


- It's far better to practice for 2 half-hour sessions a day than a solid hour per day. Don't overdo it.


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