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Pete Prown
The Pinter SB1-R
Days of Sustain
Mike Pinter conceived his new SB1-R as a do-it-all “rock star” guitar that would combine design concepts and tone choices in an attractive package. The SB1-R starts with an alder body, bolt-on/one-piece maple neck and pau ferro fretboard using 22 frets, black inlays, and a compound 10″-to-16″ compound radius. Each buyer gets to choose fret…
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Pete Prown
The Wampler Catacombs
Shimmer Box
In the pedal market, the category of reverbs and delays is straight fire these days. Wampler has jumped in with the Catacombs, a stereo box that can operate as a floor unit or on a desktop for deeper experimentation. At its top left is a selector knob that dials through the Catacombs’ presets, offering five…
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Pete Prown
Live at the Fillmore East 1969
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
A veritable holy grail, this recording from CSNY’s first tour captures their harmonies in amber. Better, the integrity of the audio has been strenuously maintained, as guitarists Neil Young and Stephen Stills helped mix the original eight-track tape. Young said recently, “[We] have the tapes, and they sound so real. We mixed at Sunset Sound……
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Pete Prown
Not Done Yet
Eric Clapton
Nearly 60 years after “For Your Love” – the hit that prompted him to leave the Yardbirds – Clapton can pick the material he wants, documented on this eclectic, mostly-mellow release. Meanwhile combines EC’s love of melody and nostalgia with controversial Covid-era singles, many railing against lockdown or politicians (like ex-British PM Boris Johnson, who…
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Pete Prown
Mark Lettieri
Can I Tell You Something?
The Snarky Puppy virtuoso delivers a set of crisp funk-fusion, touching on everything from Steely Dan jazzisms to an ’80s dance party. Part of Lettieri’s charm is that he’s an absolute beast on six-string, but never forgets groove and taste – even when melting the frets off. “Dragonfly” has soaring, Lukather-tinged leads next to a…
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Pete Prown
Richie Kotzen
Nomad
More than 30 years into a wildly eclectic career (hey, the guy played with Poison and bass god Stanley Clarke), Richie Kotzen is no longer that pre-grunge shredder. With Nomad, he again proves himself a multifaceted, nuanced musician with chops and a killer voice – and also plays slammin’ drums on most cuts. Kotzen’s musical…
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Pete Prown
Harden Muddy Waters
Mojo Working
Harden Engineering is a small Chicago shop that specializes in hand-made instruments in a variety of shapes and sizes and aims to bring a custom approach at affordable prices. Its Muddy Waters model is a single-cutaway with a body made of paulownia. Let’s dig in. The Muddy’s medium-C shaped neck is maple capped by a…
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Pete Prown
Chase Bliss Onward
Glitch Niche
These days, there’s a litany of “glitch” pedals on the market – boxes that deconstruct guitar signal into 8-bit bleeps and lo-fi bloops. Chase Bliss’ entry is the Onward. Unlike similar pedals, the Onward is remarkably accessible; just plug in and start twiddling knobs; Mix blends natural guitar tone with effect, while Octave adds synth-like…
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Pete Prown
Jerron Paxton
Country-Blues Scholar
Hailing from Los Angeles, Jerron Paxton is a remarkable bluesman, able to conjure sounds of the rural, interwar South through his voice and fingerstyle guitar, as well as banjo, harp, accordion, and piano. But don’t fob him off as another Robert Johnson wannabe. Paxton is a scholar of country-blues and early jazz music, owing to…
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Pete Prown
Freddie Salem
Freddie Salem, who joined The Outlaws as they were rising to headliner status in 1978, died September 23 from complications of cancer. He was 70. Born in Akron, Ohio, Salem played in local bands while growing up and later became a session guitarist in Los Angeles studios, including playing acoustic guitar on a Barbra Streisand…
