Absorbing and exuding great vibes from his living room, Philip Sayce and his PRS Silver Sky (plugged into a ’68 Super Reverb) play “Lady Love Divine,” one of the fine tunes from his latest album, “The Wolves Are Coming.” Catch our interview with Philip in the April issue. Read Now!
Absorbing and exuding great vibes from his living room, Philip Sayce and his PRS Silver Sky (plugged into a ’68 Super Reverb) play “Lady Love Divine,” one of the fine tunes from his latest album, “The Wolves Are Coming.” Catch our interview with Philip in the April issue. Read Now!
Calling Steve Dawson a “roots” artist seems a disservice to a musician so eclectic and wildly talented. On Eyes Closed, Dreaming, he effortlessly mixes earthy rock and roll, soul, Hawaiian, country, and blues highlighted by dextrous slide and superior acoustic fingerpicking. When he’s not recording and touring, Dawson hosts a podcast called “Music Makers and […]
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One of the least un-derstood aspects of American guitar history is the role of musical instrument distributors. It’s one thing to be able to manufacture guitars, but quite another to get them to customers, especially in an era when your purchase was likely to be from a local store or teacher (excepting mail order). Enthusiasts […]
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Fully appointed in classic Vox dress, the famed British amp maker’s new AC30C2X and AC15C1 both sport enough of that beloved AC30 look to make most any player yearn for Beatles boots and Fab Four suits. The AC30C2X is a 30-watt, 2×12 combo loaded with Celestion Alnico Blue speakers (there’s another version of this amp […]
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To the surprise of many Motown fans, a man emerged in 2011 claiming to have played guitar on “Money” and several other early songs produced by the legendary Detroit label.
Budda Verbmaster 112 Price: $1,800 (street) Contact: budda.com As part of its Hand-Wired series, Budda has reissued the tube-rectified Verbmaster 1×12 combo that differs from similarly powered amps because it’s a two-channel with reverb and a second (hotter) input. The Verbmaster uses the same A/B high-gain, low-wattage circuit as Budda’s Twinmaster, but with a three-spring […]
Many guitar aficionados are aware of the instruments proffered by Houston’s Alamo Music. The Texas manufacturer has created unique low-end (sonically, that is) items, some as regular production basses, others as prototype and/or custom-orders. Among the most unique and rare were no more than a half-dozen map-shaped Metropolitan Tanglewood basses created in the mid/late ’90s. […]
Eric Clapton christened it “woman tone.” On the famed 1966 “Beano” album, John Mayall’s Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton, the guitarist ran his Les Paul Standard into a Marshall Model 1962 JTM45 2×12 combo. Legend has it he added a Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster to his signal path on several tracks. With the amp controls […]
Jane Getter’s Anomalia is a mostly instrumental album that traverses the hypnotic seas of jazz-rock, with lyrics. A fusion of the bold, the ethereal, and the intense, her guitar is front and center as she nails a barrage of cool chord changes with finesse and harmonic sophistication. Guests include Alex Skolnick and Vernon Reid, but […]
Musical chemistry is a rare thing. It’s not easily attainable, but when you have it, the fruits are magical. If you haven’t heard the project featuring George Lynch, drummer Ray Luzier of Korn, and bassist/vocalist Dug Pinnick of King’s X, you’re missing out. This is what chemistry sounds like. KXM’s second album, Scatterbrain, is one […]
Playing Detroit in 2013, Joe Bonamassa had a special treat in store for the crowd. “The best, most badass guitar legend that ever came out of this town,” he declared. “He’s the pride of Detroit. I give you the legend that is Jim McCarty.” Although he has largely flown under the guitar-hero radar, the lanky […]
If you‘re a “first impressions mean a lot” kind of gearhead, DNA Analogic’s line of effects pedals may just win your heart the instant you crack open the box(es). Housed in cast-aluminum casings and employing heavy-duty metal control knobs that convey a certifiable “built to last” aesthetic, these mid-sized boxes certainly look unique, and bear […]
Guitar history is littered with “better ideas,” some of which stayed around, went nowhere, or went somewhere before landing in the boneyard to be occasionally reincarnated. A great example is the aluminum neck on this ’78 Travis Bean TB1000S. Travis Bean guitars were one of the great ideas of the ’70s that promised to revolutionize […]
Longtime musician and professional tool-and-die maker Don Thompson recently introduced the Tremor Bender, a retrofit stringbending device for most Fender- and Gibson-style instruments. Thompson’s goal was to make a stringbender that could be installed without drilling holes or doing irreversible modification. He also wanted to utilize an actuator that didn’t get in the way of […]
In the summer of 2021, Megan Lovell decided enough was enough of her vintage Rickenbacker Model B. While she loved the feel, sound, and vibe of the instrument dubbed “the Panda,” for years it had been taking a toll on her body during Larkin Poe’s high-energy live shows. Knowing something had to give (and preferring […]
Best-known as Ozzy Osbourne’s longest-tenured guitarist, Zakk Wylde has also been the leader of Black Label Society since the late ’90s. With Ozzy off the road in 2021, Wylde has made the most of his time; not only has BLS issued a career-encompassing 12-LP box set, None More Black, but there’s a new studio effort, […]
Often forgotten amongst Fender’s many classics, the Musicmaster and Duo-Sonic were conceived to capitalize on teenagers taking up the guitar in droves as Bill Haley and the Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock” rode the Billboard charts for 10 weeks in the summer of 1955. Fender’s Sales division was acutely aware that nobody would be using […]
It’s ironic – and tragic – that Brian Wilson leads off his long-awaited memoir explaining the voices he hears in his head. He’s referring to the mental illness that has troubled his life and career, but he soon segues into the other voices he hears in his head – a near-mystical ability to envision songs […]
In Episdoe 23 of “Have Guitar Will Travel,” host James Patrick Regan speaks with singer/songwriter/A-list session guitarist Jedd Hughes. A veteran of the Nashville scene, Hughes grew up in Australia before seeking musical stardom in the U.S. Here, he talks about his long, sometimes rocky, but successful road, including backing Patti Loveless, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou […]
Earth, Wind & Fire played “world music” before the phrase was coined. By 1974, bandleader Maurice White’s ensemble of talented musicians had five albums to its credit, two of which, Head To The Sky and Open Our Eyes, went platinum thanks to music lovers who were hip enough to appreciate an Afro-Cuban jam band with […]
At the beginning of amplified music, one of the first instruments to get a magnetic pickup was the Rickenbacker “frying pan” lap steel – the first of many electrified lap steels made at one time or another by guitar companies including Gibson, Fender, and, of course, Silvertone. Attend a guitar show today, and you’re likely […]
