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Pete Prown
TWA GD-02 Great Divide Analog Synth Octaver
Mono Monster
TWA GD-02 Great Divide Analog Synth Octaver Price: $399 Info: www.godlyke.com . Despite its cumbersome name and the fact it looks like it might require an MIT degree to use, the TWA GD-02 Great Divide Analog Synth Octaver is simple and relatively intuitive to use – and a lot of fun. At its heart, the…
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Pete Prown
BC Audio Amplifier No. 10 Mk. II
Big-Tone City
BC Audio Amplifier No. 10 Mk. II Price: $2,495 (list) Contact: www.bcaudio.com Bruce Clement is known for his quality amp work, including models housed in military ammo cans. One of his 50-watt heads, the Amplifier No. 10 Mk. II, might not be quite that unique, but it sports fresh features in a crowded “boutique” market.…
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Pete Prown
Road to Rock
The Electrifying Sounds of Post-War Guitar
Fans often mark the beginning of rock and roll as either Elvis Presley’s Sun Sessions or Bill Haley & the Comets’ “Rock Around the Clock,” both recorded in 1954. But three years earlier, in early March of 1951, Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats were credited on a 78-rpm single called “Rocket 88.” Played in…
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Pete Prown
Oddfellow Napoleon Boost
Little Dictator
Oddfellow Napoleon Boost Price: $119.99 (list) Contact: www.oddfellowfx.com Overdrive is one of the guitarist’s great joys. Unlike flat-out distortion, overdrive is a broad tonal palette, from clean and full to huge and rockin’ – and every shade in between. Oddfellow’s Napoleon Boost aims to give players a simple but powerful overdrive in a small-footprint chassis,…
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Pete Prown
Devi Ever:FX Big Distortion Sound Machine
Enough is Never Enough
Devi Ever:FX Big Distortion Sound Machine Price: $200 (list) Contact: www.devieverfx.com Want fuzz, crunch, and overdrive? How about all at once? The Devi Ever:FX’s Big Distortion Sound Machine is a gnarly pedal that pushes the sonic envelope with guitar, electric bass, or whatever tool (it would be insane on electric piano, for example). The Big…
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Pete Prown
Phil Collins, Billy Cobham
Great Guitar Albums From Non-Guitarists
Sometimes non-guitarists make great guitar albums. These expanded reissues from drummers Billy Cobham and Phil Collins are cases in point. After a blistering career in the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cobham went solo and released a spate of excellent fusion albums, compiled here in an eight-CD box-set. His debut – 1973’s Spectrum – has long been recognized…
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Pete Prown
Magnatone Varsity
Less is More, Plus
Magnatone Varsity Price: $1,699 (list); $1,799 (as tested) Contact: www.magnatoneusa.com Magnatone earned a cult of admirers in the mid 20th century. Buddy Holly and Lonnie Mack used the company’s amps, and Neil Young still has a 280 Stereo model in his live rig. The company went out of business in the ’70s, but the beloved…
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Pete Prown
Tim Lerch
Tele Jazz Master
If you watch any of Tim Lerch’s videos online, his virtuosity is immediately apparent. What may throw you is his use of a Telecaster, an axe more closely associated with blues, country, and rock. But in Lerch’s hand, it becomes a killer jazz-blues machine, perfect for his tasty single-note runs and jaw-dropping chord improvisations. Lerch’s…
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Pete Prown
Vibesware Guitar Resonator GR-Junior II
Sustain For Days
Vibesware Guitar Resonator GR-Junior II Price: $175 (list, depending on exchange rate) Contact: www.vibesware.com In the beginning, there was the E Bow, a handheld device that used a powered magnet to create infinite sustain and feedback. Then came “sustainer” pickups, which were mounted internally on a solidbody – also cool, but you lost your neck…
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Pete Prown
Avante Gryphon
Game Changer?
Avante Gryphon Price: $1,495 (street) Info: www.veilletteguitars.com People bandy about the term “game changer” so often these days it barely means a thing, but the Avante Gryphon may be just that. Avante is the import line of Joe Veillette, who has long been crafting fine American guitars. His new Korean-made line presents the package in…
