Priced at entry level and built in Mexico, Fender’s Player Series provides affordable access to Fender’s most iconic solidbodies. The Player Jaguar updates a classic offset with a handful of modernizations.

The Player Jaguar features 22 frets, a short 24″ scale length, and a floating vibrato – all in keeping with signature ’60s specs. The most conspicuous updates are a humbucker in the bridge position and streamlined electronics, with the ’bucker offering more girth and grind without straying far from the Jag’s characteristic upper-mid emphasis. Where once there were more switches than could be found in a 747’s cockpit, here a lone two-way remains – a coil-cut for the humbucker, enabling a return to a classic Jaguar’s dual single-coil configuration. 

The modern C-shape neck is inviting with its short scale, which puts more frets comfortably within reach and reduces string tension, and a pau ferro fretboard with flat 9.5″ radius (rather than the original 7.25″). Gleaming chrome hardware and skirted knobs for volume and tone are true to classic features. The vibrato can be a little creaky, but delivers the action and pitch range needed to recreate signature Jaguar surf lines and dark waves of warbly chords. 

With this Jag and other models in the Player Series, Fender has done a nice job catering to today’s guitarist by balancing tonal range and playability with vintage aesthetics.

This article originally appeared in VG April 2021 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

There’s nothing like cranking up a tube amp and getting all the punch, feel, dynamics, and juicy goodness of warm valves. But how do you hit your amp’s sweet spot without ticking off the sound guy or waking up the neighbors? Fryette Amplification has a solution.

The Fryette Power Station PS-100 is a dual-mode amp-top unit that combines a load resister, attenuator, and tube power amp in one package. It allows you to connect your tube amp (up to 100 watts) and crank its Volume knob while playing at lower volumes while retaining that cranked feel. The load resister attenuates the signal to a low level which then gets reamplified by sending it to the built-in 100-watt power amp driven by two 6550 power tubes. The Fryette also allows you to connect a low-wattage tube amp and re-amp it into an arena-ready 100-watt amp. 

The PS-100 also has an impressive range of EQ and tone-shaping controls. The front panel features two rows of Volume, Presence, and Depth controls for the dual-mode operation. This allows you to turn a one-channel amp into a footswitchable two-channel amp with independent EQ controls. Two dip switches allow you to adjust overall response of the power amp section – make the power amp bright and tight, warm and loose, or anything in between.  Another nice touch is the effects loop on the back panel, where you will also find a variety of inputs, outputs, and speaker connection. 

How does it sound? Not very exciting at bedroom levels, but once the Volume control hits nine o’clock, the PS-100 comes to life. Great tube tone and feel at volumes that won’t make your ears bleed. The Fryette PS-100 is an impressive piece of gear that would fit nicely into any guitar rig.

This article originally appeared in VG April 2021 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Once upon a time, you had a guitar, amp, and pedals – a complete guitar universe. Today, there’s a fourth factor to consider – the internet. 

Enter the Spark, a standalone amp with built-in models and effects that, once connected to the web via tablet or smartphone app, provides access to thousands of amp and pedal sounds. It can also conjure drum and bass tracks to accompany your playing, morphing into a virtual backing band and practice device. 

On its own, Spark is an enclosed 40-watt modeling amp with two 4″ custom-designed speakers and a bass-reflex port. Like many modeling boxes, it has a pre-set selector knob for Crunch, Clean, Bass, and Acoustic models, plus a three-band EQ, and quick-grab effects for Mod, Delay, and Reverb. There’s also a tap-tempo button and pre-set save buttons. It’s a feisty little amp with a clean vintage look. So far, so good.

The world of Spark really opens when you get the app running. It connects to your device with a USB cable or Bluetooth. Suddenly you have access to Positive Grid’s ToneCloud of amp and pedal tones – we’re talking over 10,000 choices. Explore tones for days and never get bored or link the app to your favorite Spotify or Apple Music library and jam to favorite songs. The Spark will even provide chord diagrams for many tracks in real time. Slow the tempo down to make learning easier and add drums. The Spark is a modeling amp with effects, but it’s also a great tool for practicing, learning, and making music. 

So what is the Spark, in a nutshell? It’s an Internet-ready interface that will connect your guitar or bass with an online world of sounds and tools. Many of the patches sound good, though they’re still digital models that you’ll likely want to EQ to taste. Also, the Spark is powered by a barrel-plug adapter, so it’s clearly made for home or studio work and not gigging. 

The kicker is that for the price of two or three stompboxes, you get a mountain of goodies. Value-wise, the Spark is off the charts. If you want to stick with your proven amp and pedals, that’s fine, but if you’re ready to experiment with a vast matrix of online tools, the Spark is easy and affordable.

This article originally appeared in VG April 2021 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Ever since Jimmy Page grabbed a bow for “Dazed and Confused,” players have tried to bridge the gap between guitars and their fretless counterparts. To that end, Pickaso introduced the Guitar Bow, a workable mini-bow for acoustic guitar. 

In hand, the Pickaso is a surprisingly sturdy accessory. Made from plastic and chrome-coated aluminum, the device uses synthetic hair made by Herco, a Dunlop subsidiary. One cool twist is that the hand-grip section also has a built-in pick, handy if you want to strum and bow in the same song. 

The gizmo works easily on non-coated steel strings. First, rosin up the bow with the provided mini rosin block. Then insert Pickaso between the strings, its tail disappearing into the soundhole, and begin bowing. It takes a minute to get used to the concept, but suddenly you’ll hear reedy, violin-like tones of the bow against your strings. You can play single notes or angle the Pickaso to hit two strings at once, achieving instant harmony. The company’s website provides several performance videos for ideas on how to deploy the Pickaso.

The Pickaso is a clever accessory and, in the right hands, it will spur fresh creativity. It might not turn you into Jimmy Page, but acoustic players will immediately realize the possibilities of this expressive new device.

This article originally appeared in VG April 2021 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Blues-/roots-rocker Rick Vito knows what he wants from a guitar, and the Reverend Soul Shaker is proof. An art deco-inspired design, it sports Rick’s specs for rockin’ blues, slide, and twang. 

The Soul Shaker has a chambered korina body, maple top, and three-piece korina neck with a medium-oval profile and 24.75″ scale. Its ebony fretboard has a 12″ radius, and hardware includes a Bigsby vibrato with a Soft Touch spring for smooth twangin’. Under the hood, Reverend deploys high-end pots and input jacks, a treble-bleed circuit on the Volume knob (to preserve clarity as you decrease volume), and 10 percent poly caps instead of ceramic. Reverend instruments are built in Korea, expertly set up in the U.S., and exhibit the company’s trademark quality.

One cool aspect here is the combination of Reverend HA5 humbuckers with the chambered design and Bigsby. On one hand, you get fat, warm Gibson-like tones; conversely, the chambers and the vibrato’s roller bar deliver an airy tone and slower note attack, perfect for a guy like Vito who plays vintage blues licks and tasty slide. Plugged in, it becomes evident the guitar has a certain mojo that modern-day hardware can’t deliver – a reminder that sometimes over-engineering hardware can take out the old-fashioned goodness. The retro note attack here is easy to discern.

The Soul Shaker has a super-comfortable neck and overall feel, with an upper-fret reach similar to a Les Paul. Its Bigsby produces a gentle wobble and stays in tune remarkably well thanks to the Boneite nut and pin-lock tuners. The guitar’s vintage looks, feel, and tone, along with expert build and high-performance details, are just like a revved-up ’50s hot rod – with strings.

This article originally appeared in VG April 2021 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

DryBell Musical Electronic Laboratory has been kicking out great pedals for a few year, with clients like Mike Landau, John Mayer, Steve Stevens, and Joe Perry, to name a few.

Designed and made in Croatia, DryBell’s  Unit67 is an 1176-style compressor, EQ, and Rangemaster-style boost designed to help guitarists push their amplifiers to tonal splendor. Its Boost knob controls the level, while mini switches boost or cut frequencies, and a Sustain knob produces dry or compressed sounds. The EQ and multi-flavored boost add up to 22.4 dB.

The Unit67’s separate sections are engineered to work as a team, thickening signal with grit, sustain, and natural attack. Combining the EQ and Boost offers a maximum of 41 dB in the midrange spectrum. Dialed in while testing, the DryBell added sizzle to rhythm parts and turned lead guitar sounds into arena-rockin’ idolatry. Single-coil players will dig the chime and punch while Brit-rock humbucker players will get a kick out of mutant Rangemaster tones. Upscale bark is available, but the EQ section also enables scooped goodness and lots of colorful contours.

The DryBell Unit67 adds just the right amount of magic sauce to push a rig to the next level. Powered by a nine-volt adapter, it’s addictive, too; you’ll find it wants to be “on” all the time.

This article originally appeared in VG April 2021 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Inside its chicken hatchery turned amp shop in Pittsboro, North Carolina, Carr Amplifiers has hatched another beauty in the low-watt/single-channel Super Bee.

With three distinct voices plus a wattage attenuator to deliver its supremely satisfying tone at volumes that won’t frighten the children, the Super Bee can also provide a good scare; just turn off the attenuator and let it roar at 10 watts – “the new 100” – which will fill any small club with sound, and your heart with glee.

The basic concept was to draw on a cherrypicked set of Fender-based tones from the blackface era and make them available under one roof. But Steve Carr is an originator rather than a replicator, and with the Super Bee he captures what those ’60s models could sound like in cases when circuitry and tube complements aligned just right, or when amps were modded to be more fierce than they were coming off the production line. 

We tested the 1×12 Super Bee with its Carr Valiant speaker (a 1×10 is available with an Eminence Copperhead). The amp’s Stinger rotary switch selects between 64 (the scooped sound of an early Deluxe Reverb), 68 (round and balanced, like a Super Reverb), and 72 (more aggressively driven, as if modded with an extra gain stage, in the vein of an SRV mod). A range of sweet, angry, creamy, and crisp tones becomes available well beyond those considered characteristic of Fender.

For max headroom, you’ll want to be set at 10 watts. Toggling to Attenuator mode, you can taper from two all the way down to zero watts. The magic can happen at any listening level, as the output section’s namesake 6BM8 tubes, little titans that they are, can be worked hard even when you’ve attenuated to a fraction of a watt. The ability to re-create this amp’s full-bodied, warm tone at very low volumes makes the Super Bee a gem for late-night practicing or miking up to record in any setting. You probably never knew one little watt could make you so happy.

Hand-wiring, hand-built cabs, premium components, superb craftsmanship, and attractive design are all hallmarks of Carr amps. And the Black Wine vinyl on our test amp (other cover colors are available) was nearly as pretty to see as to hear.

This article originally appeared in VG April 2021 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.