Month: December 2013

Pete Anderson

Most listeners became fans of Pete Anderson during his stint as Dwight Yoakam’s guitarist and producer. During his tenure, he put on record some of the ﬁnest and most original country licks that had been heard in decades. His solo career has moved him in the direction of other styles of roots music — and with his latest release, the blues. But nothing has changed. Anderson is still as original a guitarist as you’re likely to ﬁnd.

On his latest album, he infuses lazy shufﬂes like “Outta’ The Fire” with chordal work and double stops that step outside what you might expect to hear. On “Talkin’ ’Bout Lonely,” his solo over the chord changes employs perfect bends and a mix of chords and single lines that weave in and out of the song with a cleverness that would handcuff many lesser players.

He gets downright twangy on “For You,” a minor-key tune with a dreamy feel. He shows he’s familiar with West Coast blues and jazz on “Talkin’ My Baby Down,” a shufﬂe that allows some jazzy chord comping before a unique solo that could easily fall into cliché land for many guitarists. His second solo is even more unique, starting with a chromatic lick and then a country feel that recalls his days with Yoakam.

On “I Got Mine,” an uptown blues that cal ls to mind T-Bone Walker and B.B. King, Anderson solos eloquently and his rhythm guitar work on that one is one of the highlights of the record, with jazz ﬁlls and extended chords supplying most of the backing.

He wraps things up with the instrumental “Red Sunset Blues,” a ﬁlm-like tune with horns and strings and lots of twangy guitar, including a solo over some tasty chord changes on the piano.

Anderson might not have the world’s best voice, but he’s got the hipster attitude down that most of these songs need. Beyond being affable, the singing ﬁts the lyrics perfectly. A good example is “Big Money,” on a topic he’s written about before — the working man’s blues.

Anderson has fashioned pretty much a perfect guitar record with Birds Above Guitarland. He’s put together a batch of songs that seem familiar, but his arrangements, vocals, and especially his guitar playing make sure they are never, ever clichéd.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s January. ’14 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

December 26, 2013
Eastwood Adds Airline H77 and H78

Eastwood Airline H78

Eastwood Guitars’ Airline H77 and H78 guitars serve as tributes to the ’60s Harmony H78. Both have a laminated maple body with f-shaped sound holes and Honeyburst finish, bolt-on maple neck, roller bridge, three Airline Gold Foil Argyle SC pickusp, Gotoh-style tuners, and a rosewood fretboard. Both use a center block to add stability and decrease feedback; the H77 has a fixed tune-o-matic style bridge and trapeze tail, while the H78 has an adjustable roller bridge and Bigsby vibrato tailpiece. Learn more at www.eastwoodguitars.com.

December 23, 2013
Molly Maher and Her Band of Disbelievers

Molly Maher is blessed. She writes songs that ring true. Her singing is a ﬁne balance of deep and soulful, somewhere between Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris. And to top it all, she picks a mean guitar.

On her fourth release, she leads her loose-knit Disbelievers through a sweet blend of folk, bluesy, and countryfried rock. Maher walks a perfect line between catchy and cool.

This is a rare singer/songwriter album that’s got a heavy dose of guitars throughout. Maher moves between acoustic rhythm guitar and Dobro on most all tracks. She’s backed by Erik Koskinen and Paul Bergen on an array of slide, tremoloed, baritone guitars, some vintage. The frontline is obviously having fun with its bag of tricks, which seemingly includes experimenting with most every setting on their guitars and amps, plus a healthy selection of pedals and vibrato units. More power to ’em!

The opener, “Somewhere Down the Road,” is radio-friendly, alt-country hit material with gorgeous guitar work throughout. Maher’s vocals are accented by shimmering chords and highlighted by a wah-wah solo that sounds incongruous – and killer. The recording quality is clear and warm throughout, a true pleasure. “Blinded By Love” rides on a reggae backbeat and swirling organ lines, a supremely cool mix that creates a great lilting groove for a country song. “Shook Down” is juke-joint blues with a mysterious mood, bouncing between overdriven guitars and harp.

This is one well crafted and highly inspired album of alt-country songs and guitar worth checking out.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s June ’12 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

December 23, 2013
PRS P22

PRS P22
Price: $6,092 (as tested, retail), $3630 (street)
Info: prsguitars.com.

While PRS has for several years offered a piezo bridge-pickup system in its Hollowbody models, it recently worked with LR Baggs to improve their collaborative piezo, and the end result is being offered for the first time on a production PRS solidbody.

The P22 is based on PRS’ Custom 22 but with a slightly thicker double-cut mahogany body a la the McCarty model, figured maple top, set mahogany neck with 25″ scale and 22 frets, a PRS/LR Baggs wraparound bridge/tailpiece, and Phase III locking tuners. Our test guitar sported a fancy maple top in Black Gold Burst finish with the company’s V12 topcoat, and Bird inlays on the fretboard. Electronics include a pair of PRS 53/10 humbuckers mated to a five-way blade selector, master Volume and Tone controls for the magnetic pickups along with a master Volume for the piezo, and a three-way mini toggle to combine (or switch between) the two systems. The five-way gives the player the bridge humbucker alone (in position one), the inside coils of the neck pickup and the bridge humbucker (position two), both humbuckers (three), the inside coil of the bridge pickup and the neck humbucker (four), and the neck humbucker alone (five).

The P22 has two output jacks; one mixes the acoustic and magnetic pickups into a standard instrument cable for use with a single amp, the other routes the piezo to a separate acoustic amp or PA system. Also on the jack plate is the piezo’s 9-volt battery compartment, which houses six mini pots that control the output of individual string saddles on the piezo.

Our tester had PRS’ Pattern Regular neck profile (also borrowed from the McCarty), which has a very comfortable feel, fitting right between the company’s Wide Thin and Wide Fat profiles. The fretboard’s rolled edge gives it a lived-in feel, while the low string action and nicely polished frets made bending easy. The one piece mahogany body was light and resonant, fit and finish of all components was nicely executed, and intonation was spot-on.

Other notable features include PRS’ new pickup bobbins, which have a slightly squared shape along with new surrounds with recessed cavities that keep the height-adjustment screws flush with the top of the ring, and Phase III locking tuners that have an elegant semi-open-back design, larger buttons, and tighter gear ratio.

We tested the P22’s 53/10 magnetic pickups through a 6L6-powered 1×12″ combo and its piezo through a 1×12″ acoustic amp. The 53/10s, while true full-sized humbuckers, take inspiration from single-coils of the early ’50s, producing a thick, articulate tone with a single-coil top-end snap. Through the amp’s overdrive channel, they have plenty of midrange punch, with sweeter highs and excellent note separation. Positions two and four, which mix single-coil and humbuckers, produce a surprisingly Fender-ish quack. Darker humbucker tones are achieved by simply rolling back the well-voiced Tone control without appreciable loss of clarity.

Through a dedicated acoustic amp, the new PRS/Baggs bridge produced an outstanding acoustic tone with a realistic, “woody” vibe and clear, crisp highs, even mids, and tight low-end response. The tone is not metallic-sounding in the least. Rather, it’s warm and round, but still exhibits the classic piezo “glassy” top-end shimmer, without, of course, the feedback, howling, or noise rendered by a traditional acoustic/electric when it’s turned up or moved too close the amp. And as a player, one needn’t adapt their technique, so it remains easy to solo in upper registers, execute full bends, and do things that prove challenging an acoustic. While having to use two cables and running into two amps complicates matters a bit, it’s key to getting an authentic acoustic sound without sacrificing regular electric tone, as well as adding a new dimension and space when both systems are engaged.

The 53/10 pickups and re-tooled piezo make the P22 one of the most versatile-sounding guitars on the market. With its huge palate of single-coil, humbucker, and acoustic tones, excellent playability, quality, and killer looks, the P22 will be the go-to guitar for many.

This article originally appeared in VG July 2012 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

December 23, 2013
Martin’s “12-Fret” 000-42

This 1921 Martin 000-42 bearing serial number 15947 projects with excellent volume. It’s very responsive and renders beautiful tone – prime for fingerpicking.

Martin has never been a stranger to producing certain guitars in very limited quantities.

But just how rare is the 12-frets-to-the-body 000-42? It has long been held that Martin has done a yeoman’s job of tracking its production through the years (few manufacturers have been so meticulous, especially going back so far), but it has recently become clear that the company’s production totals from its early history can no longer be relied upon as 100 percent accurate.

Those records, as printed in the late Mike Longworth’s book Martin Guitars – A History indicate that 13 of this style were made (two in 1918, five in ’21, four in ’25, and one in 1930). However, there has been a great deal of research since Longworth’s book was first published in 1975. In certain cases, such as the 000-28 koa-bodied guitar (of which Longworth indicated only one), three are known to exist; two of them were recorded as 000-28s with no mention that they were koa. This information was discovered when the guitars surfaced in recent years.

According to Richard Johnston, co-author of the book’s revised edition, Martin’s production totals for the 12-fret 000-42 do not agree the serial-number logs, and there are surviving records of only nine such guitars.

“In going over the same serial number log Mike Longworth was using, I find two listed in 1918, five in 1921, one in ’22, and in 1925 I can’t find any mention of a 000-42,” he said. “There are no additional notes for any of them with the exception of the second one in 1918, which has serial number 13364 and is the model with special pickguard made for Ditson with fan bracing. I’ve read through all entries for the year 1925 three times, and can’t find a hint of any 000-42. But, maybe Mike found something he didn’t write in the log? This period is a mess, with a lot of models sometimes lumped into the same batch. For instance, 22084 through 22098 is described as ’00-42, 00 and 000-45,’ which suggests that 000-42 models could have been included in that same shop order.

“This kind of mismatch between Mike’s totals and the serial number log, which he compiled, is not unusual,” Johnston added. “Serial number 41802 is listed as a single-order 000-42 stamped March 13. Also, 1930 is an absolute mess, listing new and old style tenors, plectrums, OMs – including Deluxes – banjo pegs versus standard gears, ‘#25’ models, and every variation of older standard models imaginable as Martin struggled to find its way in the transition to longer necks along with bigger bodies for four-string models. That lone 000-42 is months before the first of the only two OM-42 models listed later that year.”

As is typical of Martin guitars made from 1898 through late 1930, this guitar has a serial number stamp on the neck block, but no style-designation stamp. It clearly conforms to the 000 size, with a 15″-wide body and style 42 construction and ornamentation, with abalone top trim and soundhole rosette, white/grained ivoroid bindings on the ebony fingerboard and top and back edges of the body, spruce top, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, and mahogany neck.

At the time this instrument was made, the 000 was the largest body size listed in Martin’s catalog, however, as early as 1916, the company had started to produce 12-fret dreadnought guitars for distribution by the Oliver Ditson company. As befits the body size of the 000, this guitar has a 25.4″ scale whereas the far more numerous smaller body 0- and 00-size instruments produced in the ’20s had a 24.9″ scale.

The white-grained ivoroid pickguard is original. Martin did not offer pickguards as a standard feature on guitars prior to late 1929, but they produced mandolins with pickguards as early as 1896 and pickguards were available as an option on guitars by the early 1900s. The earliest Martin mandolin guards and some of their early guitar guards such as this one were inlaid into the top rather than glued to the surface.

The vast majority of guitars made by Martin in 1921 were still braced and designed for use with gut strings, but most players at that time who purchased Martin guitars for classical style playing preferred the smaller 0 and 00 size instruments, which they felt responded better to the low tension of gut strings. The 000 size, in the opinion of most players, is better suited to steel strings, and sales of 000 models were slow until Martin switched a majority of its production to steel strings a few years later.

Though a high percentage of Martins survive today (especially the higher-grade models, which were particularly well-cared-for by their owners), and those produced in such low quantities are particularly well-documented, to our knowledge only one other 12-fret 000-42 has surfaced.

This article originally appeared in VG August 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

December 21, 2013
PRS Expand S2 Line, Adds Friedman Signature Model

PRS Guitars has announced the impending of the the S2 Singlecut and S2 Custom 22. Both will have figured-maple tops, mahogany backs, 22-fret 25″ scale length mahogany necks with rosewood fretboards, and dot or bird inlays. They’ll incorporate PRS-designed S2 #7 treble and bass pickups paired with a three-way blade switch, and push/pullTone control for coil-tapping. The S2 Singlecut will get the PRS stoptail used on the company’s Core line, while the S2 Custom 22 will have a PRS vibrato.

The Marty Friedman SE signature model is a single-cut with a beveled maple top, mahogany back, 25″ scale, wide/fat 22-fret mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard and star inlays chosen by Friedman, PRS-designed SE locking tuners, adjustable stop-tail bridge, SE humbucking treble and bass pickups with Volume andTone for each pickup, and a three-way toggle on the upper bout. To learn more, visit http://www.prsguitars.com/.

December 20, 2013
Yamaha Corp. Acquires Line 6

Yamaha Corporation and Line 6, Inc. haved announced an agreement for Yamaha to acquire Line 6.

Line 6, launched in 1996, is one of the most-recognized names in the digital-modeling arena, with its POD multi-effect processors, guitar amplifiers, modeling guitars, digital wireless systems, live sound mixers, speakers, and iOS interfaces. Under the terms of the agreement, Yamaha will operate Line 6 as a wholly owned subsidiary and its management team will remain in place.

“For over 30 years of developing products, and even further back to my earliest memories as a developing musician, Yamaha has been the brand for which I have always had the most respect,” said Line 6 co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Marcus Ryle. “Yamaha has consistently set the standard in our industry for quality and innovation, and I am very proud for Line 6 to now be a part of this incredible legacy.”

“Yamaha’s acquisition of Line 6 will help accelerate the realization of our vision to drive innovation for musicians across the globe,” added Line 6 CEO and President Paul Foeckler. “We’re proud that Yamaha recognizes the innovation and value in our people, IP and processes and we’re excited about the opportunities ahead to expand our reach”

December 20, 2013
Ovation 1798 Figured Koa Elite

Ovation 1798 Figured Koa Elite

Price: $5,199
Info: www.ovationguitars.com.

The folks at Ovation decided to shake things up a bit and revisit the design of their standard roundback models. The result was the limited-edition 1798 Figured Koa Elite, pretty much the state-of-the art Ovation instrument.

Visually, the 1798 is a darned attractive acoustic. The figured, bookmatched koa top has a natural finish to highlight the honey hues of the tonewood. The traditional Ovation headstock is faced with black veneer and a small koa truss-rod cover. Dial in the gold hardware on the tuners and it all amounts to a very luxurious look. Other visual details include a koa “Ovation” inlay at the 12th fret and a simple inlay around the oval soundhole.

The 1798 has an extra-deep Venetian cutaway that reveals a small, elegant strip of koa along the bottom of the fingerboard, as well as a tapered fingerboard from the 18th to 22nd frets. Inside, there’s a Quintad “T” spruce bracing pattern to accommodate the unusual soundhole, which Ovation relocated to the upper bout, creating a more contemporary look and delivering more bass frequencies and placing it closer to the guitarist’s ear. The 1798 sports a medium-depth Lyracord roundback design, while the neck is a five-piece laminate of mahogany with two strips of maple to create a center stripe. Like the bridge, the fingerboard is ebony and sports a scale of 251/4″.

For electronics, there’s an OCP-1K pickup and OP-PRO preamp, part of Ovation’s series of swappable preamps that allow players to try out different units and tones. The OP-PRO has a built-in tuner, three-band EQ, Gain and Drive controls, and an Expressor circuit to bring in the compressor/limiter effect (a critical tool for acoustic guitarists), with a little “aural exciter” sparkle added for good measure. And if noise control is an issue, the OP-PRO adds a balanced XLR output for connecting to a PA, mixer, acoustic amp, or recording rig. The removable preamp pops out via a little button on the top and has a compartment within for a 9-volt battery. Care should be taken when reinstalling the preamp, though – pushing it too hard at the wrong angle can cause it to become wedged. It’s not difficult to figure out the correct installation, but try it gingerly at first.

One feature of the 1798 Figured Koa Elite that jumps out immediately upon playing the guitar is its stunning neck. Truly, this is one of the fastest necks imaginable on an acoustic guitar, and it’s complemented by a superior setup. In fact, this is a rare case where the actual construction and setup of the neck arguably improves the physical technique of the player. Ovation has always been known for its swift-necked acoustics, but this is as good as it gets. Acoustically, the 1798 delivers good tone, but don’t expect tons of projection from its roundback design. The offset soundhole is made primarily for acoustic-electric use.

Plugged in, the 1798 exudes loads of personality. It’s fun to play around with the Expressor knob, dialing more exciter and compression into the overall tone. The Drive knob adds woodier tones to the upper frequencies, but keep in mind that it’s relative to the Expressor, i.e., a more-pronounced Drive effect is apparent the more the Expressor is increased. On the subject of controls, care should be taken when adjusting the Drive knob on the fly during a gig – it’s easy to accidentally turn down the Gain knob at the same time. Overall, the 1798 sounds full and interesting going through an acoustic amp and PA, but it’s important to remember that it will sound like an Ovation, not a Martin. That’s just acoustic-guitar physics.

In all, the 1798 Figured Koa Elite is a terrific instrument that sounds good, looks gorgeous, and has a neck to die for. This is truly a luxury acoustic that reimagines the traditional Ovation design as something fresh and new.

This article originally appeared in VG March 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

December 20, 2013
The No Refund Band

Lead singer/guitarist Ricky Jackson sings with a brassiness and strength that doesn’t come along often in pop music. He’s also an impressive guitarist, partly in debt to the crotch-rock styles of Slash and Joe Perry.

A bluesed-up version of the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” could have been troublesome. Instead, Jackson and gang take it somewhere between Trafﬁc and Joe Cocker to prove that a good song played well can withstand a variety of stylistic interpretations and still keep its integrity. Nudged along by a lonely horn and violin, a chop-chop rhythm guitar, and kept on course by Walter Cross’ big-footed, no-apologies drumming, the song builds to a feverish crescendo as Jackson’s guitar burns.

As a showpiece though, it has to compete with Ms. Tommy Lee Bradley and Jackson’s duet on his original blues grinder “Just To Be Blue.” With just voice and guitar on another original, “One More Drink,” Jackson shows he handles the slow blues so well he can get that kind of job done all on his own should the occasion arise.

The No Refund Band is not to be dismissed. They take it from 1960s British pop to Chicago blues to the southern rock of Warren Haynes’ “Soul Shine” without a misstep and without losing their singular character. They can effectively cover – maybe it’s better to say, interpret – the Beatles, Hoyt Axton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan on the same album and still sound like themselves.
Add original material from Jackson that the band pulls off as well as they do their covers, and you end up with an album that more than makes the grade.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s Feb. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

December 19, 2013
Strymon Flint Tremolo and Reverb

Strymon Flint Tremolo & Reverb

Price: $200
Info: www.strymon.net.

In just a few short years, Strymon has established itself as a premier developer of pedal effects. With boxes like the highly praised El Capistan dTape Echo, they’ve cut out a niche building DSP effects that recapture the sounds of iconic analog gear with remarkable authenticity.

A recent addition to Strymon’s lineup is the Flint, a two-in-one pedal that re-creates tremolo and reverb circuits from historic guitar amps and studio effects. With the Flint, the dynamic duo of trem and ’verb as heard in much-coveted, seldom-acquired gear can be dropped right into your signal chain.

As famously well as tremolo and reverb work in tandem, they are discrete effects in the Flint, each with its own bypass switch, LED indicator, and parameter controls on the face of a handsome black box. On the trem side, a mini switch selects between three tremolo types: ’61 harmonic band filtering (think early brownface Fenders like the Concert and Twin), ’63 power-tube bias (brownface Princeton), and ’65 photocell (Deluxe Reverb). The Speed knob controls how fast or slow the trem oscillates, and Intensity controls the depth of the effect, ranging from no effect at hard left to smooth waves around 12 o’clock to the stuttering chop of a square wave at hard right.

On the reverb side, a mini switch selects between ’60s spring tank, ’70s electronic plate (inspired by the EMT 250), and ’80s studio rack hall (Lexicon, Alesis). The Mix knob controls the wet/dry balance, Decay lengthens or shortens the reverb trail, and Color varies the reverb tone – great for tailoring the Flint to your existing rig.

Strymon engineers note that they don’t model any specific amps or effects, but pore over the schematics of old circuits to learn how to re-create their unique and most desirable characteristics. While one musician will appreciate, say, how well Flint’s ’70s reverb plate emulates the coveted EMT 250 (to learn more, clench your wallet tightly and then check eBay), another will simply enjoy the ease with which gentle waves of vintage trem, an ambient wash, or a genuine surf tone can be recalled. In fact, Flint not only captures those vintage colors faithfully but expands on original parameters. The reverbs can create nearly infinite decays, for example, and trem speeds can run slower than the original amps allowed. Any analog purists out there are still free to set their Flint dials for vintage limitations, if they prefer.

Tremolo and reverb are wisely paired, and interact under the Flint’s hood in compelling and highly usable ways. Each can bolster the other’s best qualities or rescue an effect that needs tweaking. A reverb set to short decay and dark color adds girth to a hard-edged trem; a photocell trem softens and warms a hollow reverb. The Flint makes it possible to dial in completely convincing tones from days long gone but also allows the player to selectively dial out the undesirable sonic characteristics of those original circuits – a ticking trem, a splashy reverb attack – and replace them without sacrificing a tone’s organic, natural quality.

Secondary functions of all the front-panel knobs, accessed by holding down the two bypass switches, make possible more variations and customizations, such as a 3dB boost or cut when an effect is engaged. The order of the effects in the signal chain can be swapped; though the default setting is Reverb>Tremolo, in keeping with traditional circuit routing, reversing the order produces the more real-world sound of an amp with tremolo in a reverberating hall – the guitar signal reverberates without the peculiar sound of a reverb trail being tremmed. Another conscientiously added feature gives the player the capability to rig Flint for analog bypass rather than true bypass, so that active reverb sounds sustain when the effect is bypassed rather than abruptly cutting off.

On the back panel, the input is configured for mono but internal jumpers can be reset for TRS stereo input. There are left and right stereo outputs, plus a jack for one of three external connections: an expression pedal for continuous control over any selectable parameter; a Strymon “Favorite” switch for recalling one favorite preset in addition to the current dial settings; or a switch for tapping in tremolo tempos.

For anyone on that Holy Grail quest for vintage tone, the influence of tremolo and reverb shouldn’t be underestimated. If you have been inching closer to it, the Flint may be the big step you need. But for players with any kind of rig, playing any style, the Flint delivers high-quality trem and reverb as if plucked from the chassis of a classic piece of gear.

This article originally appeared in VG March 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

December 19, 2013