Category Archives: Newswire

Johnny Winter, among the elite guitarists in the blues and blues-rock idioms, died July 16 in Zurich, Switzerland, two days after he performed at a festival in Austria. He was 70, and at press time, no cause of death had been given. Winter grew up in Beaumont, Texas. His parents, John II and Edwina, encouraged […]

See guitarist Peter Frampton discuss the track “The One in 901,” from Hummingbird in a Box, a “mini-album” inspired by the Cincinnati Ballet. The music debuted in 2013 at Cincinnati’s Aronoff Center for the Arts, and two of the ballet’s spring-production segments were choreographed to existing Frampton music, with Frampton and his band performing live, […]

Seymour Duncan’s NYC Bass pickups use a dual-coil J-type design with a double row of exposed Alnico II pole pieces. Their four-conductor cable allow for three wiring modes – parallel, series, and single-coil mode for a vintage -Jazz-Bass sound. It is available individually or in a calibrated neck-and-bridge set.  For more, visit www.seymourduncan.com/products/bass-pickups/.

Dunlop’s Primetone picks use a combination of material and edge sculpting intended to replicate the feel, playability, and sound of tortoise picks. Made of high-density ultem, they have a new grip design,  beveled playable edges, and are available in standard, semi-round, and triangle shapes in thicknesses ranging from .73mm to 1.5mm. Learn more at www.jimdunlop.com.

Electra Guitars Invicta model has an ash body with a carved, quilted-maple top, set maple neck with medium C shape, sculpted heel with 22 jumbo frets, a 12″-radius rosewood fretboard, mother-of-pearl inlays, GraphTech Tusq nut, double-action truss rod, chrome hardware, and a TonePros bridge/tailpiece. It uses tortoise binding on the body, neck and headstock. The […]

Nordstrand Pickups’ BigMan uses two single-coil pickups in one cover that matches the physical size of a Music Man bass pickup.  Available in 4- and 5-string formats, it  uses Alnico V magnets and has four conductor-lead wires to allow for many switching options. It is designed and built in Nordstrand’s shop, in California. Learn more at […]

The Seymour Duncan 805 Overdrive uses the same chip found in the legendary 808 as a starting point, but ends with an MC33178. It has an active three-band EQ, glass-diode/back-to-back stack distortion circuit, and a gain-control range of 8dB to 36dB. Wired true-bypass and for AC/DC operation, it is assembled at the Seymour Duncan Factory […]

Roland has expanded its Cube-GX line of amplifiers with the Cube-10GX. It offers 10 watts output and uses a custom-designed 8″ speaker. Its tones can be customized using the Cube Kit app, which offers 10 COSM amps, including amps for bass and acoustic/electric guitar. Out of the box, the Cube-10GX includes three amp types from […]

Eastman Guitars’ T486-RB Ray Benson signature model is a double-cutaway guitar with laminate top, back, and sides. Its maple neck has an ebony fingerboard with pearl block inlays, 24¾” scale, 1¾”-wide bone nut, nickel Gotoh TOM-style bridge, Gotoh tuners, Lollar pickups, single controls for Volume and Tone, and a three-way pickup selector. The guitar is […]

D&A Rock Solid Stands and Hangers’ Starfish and Starfish+ instrument stands are built with TPE plastic and archival-grade fabric to cover all points of contact between the stand and a guitar. They have five legs, which the company says keeps them stable at a full 30 degrees of tilt, and use the Grip Neck System […]