In the years immediately after World War II, Americans were settling into a new way of life, and plunging headlong toward an economic prosperity never before experienced by everyday people. Change was also afoot among the nation’s guitar manufacturers. Having been restricted by materials shortages and/or re-tooling to bolster the war effort, guitar makers like [...]
Bigsby, a division of Fender/Gretsch, is reintroducing the aluminum neck shim designed by Paul Bigsby for use with the Bigsby B16 vibrato, which is specifically designed for use on the Telecaster. Though the shim is not required for use with the B16, it adds height (3/16”) and pitch angle for the neck, and many suggest [...]
Airline Guitars will soon offer two new models based on the early-’60s Silvertone Jupiter H49. The Airline Jupiter Pro replaces the H49’s wooden bridge with a Tone Pros Tun-o-matic, upgrades the bolt-on neck with a set maple neck, and has upgraded hardware. It uses two Airline Argyle pickups, a three way flipper switch, two controls [...]
Team Josie, an American Cancer Society Relay for Life team sponsored by Vintage Guitar, participated in its sixth annual benefit walk, June 1 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Each year, VG works with a guitar builder and several of its advertisers to raise donations via a raffle in the weeks leading up to the event. This year, pledges, [...]
The Seymour Duncan Sentient neck pickup is voiced to capture a blend of vintage PAF and modern tones with enough output to deliver harmonically-rich distorted lead tones with deep, detailed cleans. The Sentient is available for 7- and 8-string guitars and ships in an active mount (soapbar-sized) version for guitars with active pickups. For more, [...]
Acoustic Science guitar strings are modified with a molecular surface treatment that removes residues from the winding process, then placed in a plasma system where ultra-high-vacuum pumps are used to create an atmosphere where there are no gasses, water vapor, or contaminants. Then, proprietary compounds are activated in a electromagnetic plasma, modifying the surface of [...]
The Wisconsin-based Les Paul Foundation this week announced that it has awarded several grants. Beneficiaries include the Waukesha Education Foundation, Wilson Center, and GuitarTown Waukesha. The Waukesha Education Foundation, which raises funds for projects and programs not typically funded by its school district’s operating budget. Funding priorities include innovative and enrichment programs and recognition of [...]
Knaggs Guitars’ new Chesapeake Series Severn Trembuck guitar has a laminated alder/sapele body, a maple neck with 25.5” scale and rosewood fretboard, and is available in three option tiers that include a maple top and various finishes. It uses two humbuckers controlled by a thee-way blade switch with push/pull coil-tap, and Knaggs’ Chesapeake Tremolo, which [...]
TSVG Pedals’ new Slow Ride OD/Fuzz is hand-built by the company in Philadelphia and offers a germanium fuzz tone with a two-position “thickening” switch the company says changes the effect’s voicing from “high-end scream” to “full-bodied midrange growl.” It has controls for Volume and Attack, and is built using point-to-point wiring with AC128 GE transistors, [...]
Steve Vai is set to release the next two in his series of Naked Tracks albums, featuring selections from Where The Wild Things Are, Sound Theories, and his latest solo release, The Story of Light. When recording, Vai mixes each track without the lead-guitar part, and the Naked Tracks CDs will use those tracks so others can play, improvise, shred, or do whatever [...]
