Category Archives: Newswire

Gruhn Guitars is set to offer for sale the earliest known custom-color black Fender Stratocaster. Musician Howard Reed, Jr. (1937–’81) ordered the guitar in 1955 through McCord Music Company, in Dallas. In ’58, Reed joined Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps and used the Strat as his primary guitar onstage. He also used it on […]

Breedlove Stringed Instruments Discovery Series guitars were, the company says, created to support newcomers to the instrument. They have a radiused fretboard, slimmer neck profile, and pinless bridge and are available in dreadnought and concert-style bodies with no cutaway or electronics, or with cutaway and Fishman ISYS-T electronics. The Concert is designed for the fingerstylist […]

Wishbone Ash recently released its 24th studio album, Blue Horizon. In its 45th year, the band’s stronghold is England and Europe, but founder Andy Powell believes it’s time for a tour of the U.S., including locales where the band hasn’t performed in years. “We hope our long-lost fans will check out what we’ve been doing,” said Powell. […]

Seymour Duncan’s Black Winter pickup, created for metal players looking for more aggression without sacrificing definition and clarity, is now available for six-, seven-, and eight-string guitars. It has a black bottom plate, black pole pieces and screws, blood-red wire, and the Duncan logo in Old English font. It is wound in bridge and neck […]

Reunion Blues’ RBX Series bags are lightweight and include backpack straps, integrated subway grips, Zero-G handles, a  pocket and the RBX Protection System, a lightweight foam surround with strategically placed impact panels, a  foam neck cradle, and endpin rest. Visit www.reunionblues.com.

Lanikai Ukuleles has partnered with ukulele virtuoso and composer Jake Shimabukuro’s Four Strings Foundation. The non-profit, founded by Shimabukuro and Chicago educator Polly Yukevich in 2013, seeks to curate music education workshops nationwide. Lanikai, one of the world’s largest ukulele brands, remains committed to music education and will provide their patented TunaUke ukuleles to schools and […]

Joe Knaggs has devised a method to stain different finishes on solidbody guitars. Called double purfling, the finish involves splitting the guitar’s top into sections by inserting channels. For more, go to www.knaggsguitars.com.

Dean Zelinsky, CEO of Dean Zelinsky Private Label Guitars, has been granted a patent for a new guitar neck design that  textures the backside. The design is marketed as the Z-Glide Reduced Friction Neck, which Zelinksy says improves playability and feel while addressing the undesirable tacky neck feel when a sweaty palm meets a conventional […]

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) has announced the upcoming retirement of CEO Larry Thomas. Thomas was appointed to the FMIC Board of Directors in 2009 and became CEO on August 1, 2010. Interim COO Scott Gilbertson will assume the role of interim CEO until the company completes its search for a successor for Thomas, whose retirement […]