Xotic Effects Voltage Doubler power adapter, designed for use with Xotic pedals, steps up voltage output to 15 or 18 volts with a max draw of 80 milliamps. Running pedals at higher voltages gives increased headroom and dynamics, clearer top-end, extended bass, and less compression. For additional information visit www.xotic.us.
Year: 2014
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Xotic Effects Intros Voltage Doubler Power Adapter
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Renowned Nashville Player/Producer Chip Young Passes
Chip Young, a session guitarist, producer, and engineer famous for his thumb-style playing, died December 20 in a Nashville hospital. He was 76 and had undergone triple-bypass surgery several weeks prior.Young, whose real name was Jerry Stembridge, started playing guitar as a prodigy of Jerry Reed and Chet Atkins. He began to amass recording credits in 1956, and in ’64 moved to Nashville at the encouragement of Reed. Through the decades, he played on recordings by Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tony Joe White, Charlie Louvin, Leon Russell, Carl Perkins, Kris Kristofferson, Earl Scruggs, George Jones, Guy Clark, Ronnie Milsap, The Oak Ridge Boys, Tanya Tucker, J.J. Cale, Eddy Arnold, and others, including on Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and Charley Pride’s “Kiss an Angel Good Morning,” Vern Gosdin’s 1983 classic “Way Down Deep,” and Presley’s “Guitar Man.”
In the mid ’70s, he opened his own studio, Young ’Un Sound, and subsequently engineered and/or produced recordings by Delbert McClinton, Billy Swan, Jimmy Buffett, Joe Ely, Tom T. Hall, Reba McEntire, the Statler Brothers, and more.
In 2000, he recorded an album titled Having Thumb Fun With My Friends, which featured friends including Reed, Atkins, Scotty Moore, and others.
He remained active into the 21st century, working with Todd Snider, Candi Staton, and My Morning Jacket.
Young is survived by his wife, Diane, a daughter, two grandchildren, one sister, two brothers, and several nieces and nephews.
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Seymour Duncan Adds Lemmy Custom Shop Signature Pickups
Seymour Duncan Custom Shop Lemmy signature pickups are wound for greater attack and punch while maintaining clarity under heavy distortion. They are hand-built and available in individual neck, middle, or bridge models, or as a set, and as direct-mount for Rickenbacker’s Lemmy Signature bass or pickguard-mount for traditional Rickenbacker basses. Learn more at www.seymourduncan.com. -
Moniker Guitars Offers TX BBQ Series
Moniker Guitars’ TX BBQ Series guitars are customizable and have a design inspired by favorite barbeque joints in Austin, Texas. All have a white-wash finish, walnut pickguards, walnut knobs, aged-gold hardware, and an engraved walnut truss-rod cover. Special finish options are available, as are, Rio Grande BBQ Bucker pickups and custom engraving on the truss-rod cover. Learn more at MonikerGuitars.com. -
Dobro Model 27
Pete “Bashful Brother Oswald” Kirby and Oswald‘s Dobro, Serial #7233. The melodic, evocative warbling of a resonator guitar has for decades been a fixture in country music, and knowledgeable fans will tell you there’s one primary individual to thank for it – Pete “Bashful Brother Oswald” Kirby.
Kirby was born in Sevierville, Tennessee, in 1911. His introduction to the resonator occurred circa 1929, thanks to a Hawaiian musician named Rudy Waikiki. Kirby joined Acuff’s Smoky Mountain Boys in 1939, where his dobro work and tenor harmony helped define country music in its formative years. His stage character was known as Bashful Brother Oswald, and he usually dressed in overalls and an orange hillbilly-type hat, typifying the “country comedian” in such bands of the time.
Dobro took its name from the Dopyera brothers, who started their own company shortly after playing a key role in the development of resonator guitars with National. In the early days of both companies, there were fundamental differences in each brand’s construction, but both used hubcap-like resonator plates to amplify the sound of an acoustic guitar. Today, the word “Dobro” is widely used as a general descriptor of resonator guitars.
The Dobro that Kirby counted on for many years is either a model 27G that was made in California by the Dobro company, or a model 27 made in Chicago by the Regal company which began producing Dobro instruments under license in 1933. Either way, it’s a wood-bodied, two-tone sunburst with a single resonator plate and a round neck (as opposed to a Hawaiian-style square neck) with 12 frets clear of the body. One key to its identity is the lack of three small holes in the top, near the neck joint. Many Dobros had them, but the model 27s (from either manufacturer) did not.
And while a hand-written letter from Kirby (belonging to Nashville musician Mike Webb, the instrument’s current owner) says the instrument was made in 1929, its serial number indicates it was made in 1934-’36. Many Regal-made instruments didn’t have serial numbers, which would give a nod to it being California-made. The resonator plate has patent #1896484 and is embossed with “Other Pat. Pend.,” which also dates the guitar to the mid/late 1930s.
Kirby reportedly acquired the instrument from fellow legend Shot Jackson in 1949, who repaired it and replaced parts after Kirby acquired it. It was always tuned in open A, and Kirby averred that whenever he played his Dobro, he simply stuck with the melody to accompany Acuff’s singing. He also recorded numerous solo albums and appeared on other Nashville sessions.
Acuff died in 1992. Kirby published his autobiography in ’94 and became an official member of the Grand Ole Opry a year later. He passed away in 2002.
In Webb’s letter, Kirby notes, “…an instrument it (sic) no good if it isn’t played and he plays more like me than any one (sic) I know.”
And that says a lot about Kirby as a musician, as he wanted his instruments to continue to be played rather than end up on display in a museum.
This article originally appeared in VG October 2004 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
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Awesome Musical Instruments T3 Pickup Switch Upgrade
Awesome Musical Instruments T3 Pickup Switch Upgrade
Price: $149.99 (black or white three-ply); $164.99 (white pearloid); $169.99 (brown tortoiseshell)
Info: www.awesome-guitars.com.When Leo Fender was designing the Strat back in the early ’50s, he equipped it with a surplus three-way pickup selector. Three pickups, three choices – simple and straightforward. Players ever since have tried to unlock all of the sounds that a three-pickup guitar can offer, whether by simply positioning the pickup selector in just the right spot for that quacky “out of phase” sound (i.e., positions two and four), installing an aftermarket five-way selector, or adding push/pull switches or mini toggles.
Now Awesome Musical Instruments offers the key to unlocking 35 true analog tones residing in three-pickup guitars. The T3 Pickup Switch Upgrade comprises a proprietary system of six mini toggle switches, a master volume control, and a master tone control, all prewired into a custom-configured Strat pickguard with matching knobs. The T3 drops right into the guitar and uses the existing pickups as well as Euro-style push blocks for all the pickup and control connections. That means no soldering, just small wire cutters, pliers, and a Phillips screwdriver.
The first three of the T3’s six mini toggle switches turn their respective pickups on or off, either in or out of phase. The second set of three switches determines whether the pickups are connected in series or in parallel. There is a bit of a learning curve, but because everything is laid out it in a logical fashion, it’s not as bad as one might expect. When learning the system, it’s important to keep in mind that some switches won’t do anything to the sound unless more than one pickup is on.
The five familiar sounds (bridge, bridge/middle, middle, middle/neck, and neck, all in parallel) are easy to find with individual pickup switches. Two other useful pickup combos are also simple to find: the neck and bridge pickups in parallel for a Tele middle-position sound, and all three pickups in parallel for a fat but still snappy single-coil sound. Add the ability to switch any of the three pickups to true out-of-phase, for that thin, nasally tone, and the T3 presents a whole new sound palette. Granted, phase switches had their heyday in the late ’70s and early ’80s, and the low-fi sound has some limitations, but the option does add a cool retro vibe (especially when soloing), and really makes single tones jump. It’s a nice option.
For some really uncharted territory, the T3 can put the three pickups into the circuit in series instead of in parallel (as with typical Strat switching), creating a humbucker-style sound with two or all three of the pickups. The results are atypical of single-coil-loaded Strats – fatter and thicker with more midrange and less top-end sparkle. Sometimes the differences in tone from parallel to series switching can be a bit subtle and have a tendency to show more contrast when explored with some overdrive dialed in on the amp.
To be sure, it takes time to really explore all the possibilities the T3 Pickup Switch Upgrade has to offer, but it’s a fun trip that ultimately leads to some familiar classic sounds – as well as some cool new ones.
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.
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MTD Kingston Saratoga Deluxe
MTD (Michael Tobias Design) Kingston’s Saratoga Deluxe Jazz bass can operate in active or passive mode with optional Bartolini upgrade pickups, and has a carved body and asymmetrically shaped neck. It is available in satin Honeyburst, satin Dark Cherryburst, and gloss Transparent Black. Read more at www.danabgoods.com. -
Sheptone Releases Heartbreaker Pickups
Sheptone’s Heartbreaker pickups are PAF-inspired, use degaussed Alnico V magnets, and are wound to emulate the sound of Jimmy Page in the classic Led Zeppelin era. Learn more at www.sheptone.com. -
Eastwood Guitars Set to Offer LaBaye 2×4 Reissue
Eastwood Guitars is offering a reissue of the LaBaye 2×4, a mid-’60s guitar designed by Wisconsin native Dan Helland and built at the Holman-Woodell factory in Neodesha, Kansas. Helland’s concept intended to reinforce his belief that an electric solidbody is simply a slab of wood with a neck and pickups. Among the few to play them was Devo guitarist Bob 1, and along with a standard version, Eastwood will offer a signature model with Bigsby and upgraded pickups. Learn more at www.eastwoodguitars.com. -
Fryette Introduces Power Station Attenuator
The Fryette Power Station is a level attenuator for controlling the volume of high-powered guitar amplifiers. It is designed to preserve the tone of the attenuated amp at any volume setting and maintain the dynamic feel and speaker response. It has a post-distortion effects loop, offers silent direct recording, can be used with any amplifier up to 150 watts output, and can also be used as a power booster for low-powered amps. Learn more at www.fryette.com.