Month: July 2013

  • Topham Replaces Dreja in Yardbirds

    Three original Yardbirds (from left); Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, and Top Topham.
    Three original Yardbirds (from left); Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, and Top Topham.

    Yardbirds founding member Chris Dreja, who played rhythm guitar and, later, bass, had to leave the reunited edition of the band due to health issues. Original drummer Jim McCarty called on Top Topham to take Dreja’s place for the group’s upcoming 50-year celebration that will include U.S. dates in 2014 and a U.K. tour with other British Invasion artists the Zombies, the Animals, the Spencer Davis Group, Chris Farlow, and Maggie Bell.

    Topham, who was the Yardbirds’ original lead guitarist, before he left the group and Eric Clapton joined, is also gigging with Top Topham’s Early Yardbirds, which also includes Simon Van Downham, formerly of Herman’s Hermits.Topham says, “The material is some of the early tunes, played in that period style, and we also cover some Otis Rush, Snooky Prior, and Howlin’ Wolf blues in the style of the early Yardbirds.”

  • Moniker Guitars Launches Semi-Hollow Line

    Moniker guitars launchesMoniker Guitars’ new semi-hollow guitars are custom-made via the company’s website, which gives players the ability to choose elements to include on one of two body shapes. Moniker has partnered with Seymour Duncan pickups and uses PPG’s Envirobase water-based paint, which has low VOC levels and quick dry times. The brand has been adopted by manufacturers such as Lamborghini and Ferrari. Learn more at MonikerGuitars.com.

  • PRS Launches S2 Line

    PRS launches S2 series
    PRS S2 Starla

    PRS Guitars’ S2 Series Mira, Starla, and Custom 24 are being produced on a second manufacturing line in the company’s Maryland shop, and blend new manufacturing techniques with its long-practiced quality control and workmanship.

    “This has been a textbook example of how a dedicated team can come together to create not only a fantastic series of guitars, but a state-of-the-art production line to build them on. We look forward to offering this new series of guitars to an expanded artist and customer base while giving our current customers more options,” said company president Jack Higginbotham.

    The company calls the investment “a continuation of a long-term plan to diversify the company and its offerings… and to supply more artists and players with tools to create music. With their retro-inspired vibe, hallmark PRS quality, and popular price tag, the S2 Series is perhaps the strongest example of this yet from PRS.”

    Visit www.prsguitars.com/s2series.

  • Florence Joelle

    Florence Joelle

    Florence Joelle sings rock and roll like Billie Holiday might, croons a torch ballad as Wanda Jackson may, and spices it all with a bit of Patti Smith attitude. Add to that Joelle’s French accent by way of London’s Camden Town, plus a wardrobe of silk and satin vintage evening dresses that can cause whiplash. And finally there’s the band, with wicked guitar lines from cowboy shirt-clad Huck Whitney, polyrhythmic drumming by Arthur Lager, and a solid backline from bassist/pianist Chris Campion. The result is one of the funkiest jazz/rockabilly/punk fusion bands anywhere.

    On the band’s debut CD, they create a smoky, late-night mood lost somewhere between Django Reinhardt’s Paris, a Southern roadhouse, and CBGBs. The album has a well-balanced sound, rocking yet with a jazz club’s intimacy, that lets you hear all of the instrumentation. Live, the band has an even more powerful bark and bite.

    Beyond two covers – Chick Webb’s “When I Get Low I Get High” and Teddy Powell’s “Unchain My Heart’’ – all the songs are originals. Joelle’s compositions are very much in the mode of classic jazz, yet at times with a sharp modern edge of humor and irony.
    The opening track, “Hell Be Damned And Look Out,” captures the band in full glory. Moving between Joelle’s impassioned singing and Whitney’s barbedged guitar, the song personifies their devil-may-care attitude toward musical genres as well as the glorious creation that can result.

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

  • Gruhn Guitars Opens After Move

    Gruhn Guitars Opens in New Building
    The new home of Gruhn Guitars.

    Gruhn Guitars is now open at its new location in Nashville’s Eighth Avenue South corridor. The store will mark its grand opening July 11-13 hosting instrument and accessories vendors including Taylor Guitars, Martin Guitars, Cooperstands, and DR Strings. The building has been renovated to suit the store’s specific needs – the ground floor has a larger showroom and provides space for trial rooms and an appraisal/inspection area.

    The second floor includes a high-end showroom, administrative offices, and case storage, while the top level houses the repair shop, shipping and receiving, and a photography studio. See more at https://guitars.com/store-tour/.

    The new showroom.
    The new showroom.

  • Hohner Gives to GAMA

    Hohner gives to GAMA.
    Teachers in a GAMA class.

    Hohner is contributing guitars in support of the Guitar and Accessories Marketing Association’s (GAMA) Teaching Guitar Workshops program, which helps start classroom-guitar programs across the U.S. and Canada. Since its inception in 1995, the program has taught more than 3,000 school music educators.

    Members of GAMA contribute guitars, accessories, and method books to music teachers. “Traditionally, Hohner has enthusiastically supported GAMA’s efforts to support classroom music education,” said Rock Clouser, Product Manager, Fretted Instruments. “Keeping youth inspired to create music is very important to Hohner.”

    For more, visit hohnerusa.com, guitaredunet.org, and discoverguitar.com.

  • The Clutter Family

    The Clutter Family

    The Clutter FamilyWhatever else happens to The Clutters, they will never be invited to Sarah Palin’s house for Thanksgiving dinner – the name of their song about her can’t even be printed. But they are clever satirists and seriously talented folk/rock musicians who work from way beyond the edge.

    Their music is obviously Beatles- (“JonBenet,” “Wear This Dress”) and Byrds- (“Please Stop Stealing From Grandma”) influenced, and unlike most funny music, it’s got enough going for it to make it listenable past the point when the jokes begin to wear. They may be best compared to Barenaked Ladies, but outrageous and obscene as they may be, the Clutters never come off as smug. Whether they’re in full out comic mode like in “Please Stop Stealing From Grandma” or when they tone down the funny in “Life The Movie” their songs are just flat out good. And how can you not like a band that writes a love song to the Three Stooges (“Moe Howard”)?

    At the core of the Clutters’ sound is the vibrant ring of Jim Earl’s Rickenbacker 12-string. It’s one of the elements that lift the Clutters’ music above similar fare. Every track on this album would sound just as good if the band had played it straight. Still, be careful who’s in the room when you play it.  

    This article originally appeared in VG‘s Nov. ’10 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

  • Planet Waves Upgrades NS Micro Tuner

    Planet Waves NS Micro Tuner

    The Planet Waves NS Micro Tuner clips to the back of an instrument’s headstock and uses an ultra-sensitive piezo sensor that works on loud stages. Its multi-color backlit display shows the note name in red to indicate when it’s out of tune and green to indicate  in tune. It also has an expanded calibration range and includes a visual metronome. For more, visit www.planetwaves.com/nsmicro.

  • TC Electronic Offers Spark Mini Booster

    TC Electronic SparkTC Electronics’ Spark Mini Booster is built using a discrete analog circuit that amplifies the signal without degradation or alteration. It offers 20 dB of boost ranging from clean boost to fully unleashed, takes up little space on a pedalboard,  and uses the company’s PrimeTime feature, which allows the player to toggle between latching and momentary modes, depending on how long the footswitch is held. Check it out at www.tcelectronic.com.

  • EarthQuaker Devices Intros The Depths, Arpanoid Pedals

    Earthquaker The DepthsEarthQuaker Devices’ The Depths pedal has an optical vibe circuit the company says delivers a three-dimensional swirling sound optimized to work with all types of pickups. It has controls for Voice, Throb, Intensity, Rate, and Level. It can be powered by 9-volt battery or a wall adapter up to 18 volts. The EarthQuaker Arpanoid Polyphonic Pitch Arpeggiator has eight expandable modes and works on chords as well as single notes. Modes range from one octave down through one octave up on the root note and random mode in both major and minor keys. EarthQuaker ArpanoidThe Step control selects the number of notes in the sequence, Rate adjusts speed of the cycle, a toggle changes the direction of the cycle, and the Wet and Dry controls adjust levels and mix. EarthQuaker pedals are all-analog, true-bypass, and handmade in Ohio. Learn more at earthquakerdevices.com.