Category Archives: Newswire

Renowned folk singer and guitarist Havens passed away April 22 after suffering a heart attack at his home. He was 72. Known for his hard-driving rhythmic style of play and use of open tunings that saw him bar the entire fretboard to change notes, Havens rose to prominence thanks largely to his appearance at the [...]

The Midwest Rock ‘N Roll Express tour with Styx, REO Speedwagon, and Ted Nugent, is teaming with the Rock to the Rescue charity organization raffle a guitar signed by all three acts; 75% of the proceeds will be donated to a charity in Boston to help victims of the recent explosions. The remaining 25% will be [...]

Black Cat Pedals’ OD-Boost is a hand-wired, dual channel overdrive/boost pedal that combines Black Cat’s circuit OD-1 with a clean-boost circuit. The channels can be used individually or simultaneously. The user can select the order in which the channels are stacked. It’s housed in a powder-coated box and has as black-glass epoxy PCB, two 3-PDT [...]

Australian fingerstyle guitarist Tommy Emmanuel and British jazzer Martin Taylor will release an album of duets, The Colonel & The Governor, May 14. The disc recreates jazz classics from Django Reinhardt, Carl Kress, and Eddie Lang, including standards like “Jersey Bounce,” “The Nearness of You,” and “Lullaby of Birdland” are presented in arrangements that allow them [...]

Charvel is reintroducing its Pro-Mod guitars and adding two new models, the San Dimas and So-Cal, to the line. The Pro-Mod So-Cal 1 HH has a one-piece maple neck with compound radius and 22 jumbo frets, dual Seymour Duncan humbucking pickups, recessed Floyd Rose Original double-locking vibrato bridge, Charvel tuners, and black hardware. The Pro-Mod [...]

Eastwood Guitars is offering a two-pickup version of its Warren Ellis Tenor guitar. It has an alder body, bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, single-coil blade humbucker in the neck position, a NY Mini Humbucker at the bridge position, individual on/off switches, and master Volume and Tone controls. Learn more at eastwoodguitars.com.

The Celestial Effects Gemini VTR (Vibrato, Tremolo, and Reverb) is a true-bypass pedal with three effects – pitch-shifting vibrato, volume-attenuating tremolo, and an opamp-based reverb. All can be manipulated via top-mounted controls as well as with internal trimpots. It uses Panasonic ECQ capacitors, CTS potentiometers, Switchcraft input and output jacks, and a C&K selector switch. [...]

Stern Pinball, Inc. is set to release a Metallica pinball game. The newest addition to the company’s collection of rock and roll machines, Stern says it “honors one of the world’s foremost rock bands. The Metallica pinball game channels the band’s notoriously fast tempos and aggressive musicianship to set the tone for an exhilarating player [...]

Taylor’s Spring Limited Edition 614ce-LTD and 616ce-LTD use ebony sourced from managed forest in Congo. Each has swaths of sapwood and dark heartwood, and European spruce tops with Adirondack-spruce bracing. Aesthetic touches include an ivoroid/koa fretboard inlay, ivoroid binding, curly-koa top-edge trim, ivoroid/ koa rosette, and gold-colored Gotoh 510 tuners. The company’s 400 Series Limiteds [...]

Jasmine Guitars is offering 18 models of acoustic, acoustic/electric and nylon-string guitars in a variety of body styles. The steel-string models use the Jasmine Advanced “X” Bracing System, while classical models employ the Jasmine Advanced Classical Bracing System. Acoustic/electrics use B-Band and Fishman preamps with built-in tuners and are available in dreadnought, orchestra, and classical [...]