Matt Schofield (VG, March ’12) was recently selected British Blues Awards “Guitarist of the Year” for the third consecutive year, and has been inducted to the British Blues Awards Hall of Fame. He joins bass player Andy Graham, British harmonica player Paul Jones, and American guitarist Joe Bonamassa (“Overseas Artist”) as this year’s inductees. Schofield’s sound channels British soul, Albert Collins blues, and New Orleans funk. His 2011 release, Anything But Time, was named Blues Pick of 2011 by BBC R2 National Radio. Read more at mattschofield.com.
Guitar/motorcycle builder Nick Perri recently completed a custom instrument that honors David Mann, a graphic artist renowned in the biker community for his murals and well as his work in Easyriders magazine and on custom motorcycles. Perri’s Chopper Fest guitar was built, finished, and equipped with help from Nash Motorcycle Company, SpaGetty’s Garage, TV Jones pickups, and GHS Strings. It will be sold through a $5-per-ticket online raffle , with the winner announced from stage at the 9th Annual David Mann Chopper Fest, slated or December in Ventura, California. All proceeds from the raffle will help defray expenses relating to the event. The guitar has an alder body, one-piece maple neck, TV Jones PowerTron neck pickup and PowerTron Plus bridge pickup, Hipshot Hardtail bridge, and a hand-lathed strap lock and volume knob. Learn more at 
The TC Electronic Flashback X4 Delay and Looper has 12 delay types and four TonePrint slots. Other features include a 40-second loop, TonePrint functionality, three pre-sets, a dedicated tap-tempo, and expression pedal input. Read about it at 
The Line 6 Relay G55 guitar wireless has a receiver housed in aluminum and uses the company’s fourth-generation digital wireless platform. With 12 channels of 24-bit audio, 10Hz–20kHz frequency response and 117dB dynamic range (A weighted), the company claims its signal is indistinguishable from a high-quality guitar cable up to 300 feet. Check it out at 
Rotosound is reissuing its Vintage Fuzz Pedal using the same circuit configuration as the ’60s original, but with modern resistors and capacitors. The pedal uses a Darlington Pair for high-gain input, which drives a temperature-compensated “fuzz” transistor; the Fuzz control can govern changes in the amount of drive from a soft crunch to a gruff growl whilst retaining the germanium roundness. The Treble control varies ratio of bass to treble, allowing a range from muddy to crisp. The Volume control alters the output level and to maintain cleanliness of sound, the pedal is switched on using dedicated contacts on the ‘instrument’ input jack. Learn more at 
The Radial PZ-DI direct box is designed to work with all types of acoustic and orchestral instruments. Its three-position impedance-selector switch lets the player match load with the pickup and includes a 220k-ohm setting to warm up magnetic pickups, a 1 meg-ohm setting to replicate a classic DI, and a 10 meg-ohm setting to eliminate the squawk and peaks common with piezo transducers. A variable Lo-Cut filter helps dial out unwanted low-frequency sounds, while its Hi-Cut filter smoothes out the overly aggressive top-end produced by many active instruments. The PZ-DI works as a standard DI, with front panel ¼” input and thru connectors to interface with an electric bass and the stage amplifier plus XLR out to feed the PA. It runs on 48-volt phantom power with an internal switching supply that elevates rail voltage while reducing distortion. Its housing is 14-gauge steel. For more, go to 
A television show that focuses on the music scene in Santa Barbara, California, was recently awarded an Emmy for an episode featuring pickup maker Seymour Duncan and his company. “BackBeat” is a monthly show broadcast by a local cable-television company and looks at the local music community, highlighting organizations that support music programs and education. It won an Emmy in the Arts and Entertainment category. Check it out at http://www.keyt.com/news/local/Locally-Produced-Television-Show-Wins-Emmy-170925711.html.