Tag: features

PRS SE Custom Semi-Hollow

PRS SE Custom Semi-Hollow

While most guitarists are familiar with PRS (and some dream every day of adding one of the company’s Private Stock axes to their collection), the company’s import SE line typically gets much less play in the git-tar press.

Developed at the request of Carlos Santana so beginners and “weekend warriors” could experience playing a PRS at a more affordable price, SE series instruments run between $600 and about $900 retail. But their quality, tone, and playability are very much in line with a top-tier professional instrument. The line consists of 10 guitars, including two artist signature models (the Mark Tremonti SE and Paul Allender SE), the SE standard, SE Custom, SE Singlecut, SE Soapbar II, and the brand-new SE Custom Semi-Hollow PRS sent for our perusal.

The SE Custom Semi-Hollow has a chambered double-cutaway mahogany body with a ¹/4” flame-maple cap, a soundhole on the lower bass bout, a set 25”-scale “wide fat” mahogany neck with a 10” radius rosewood fretboard, moon inlays, a small three-ply (black/white/black) pickguard, black speed knobs, and natural-finished wood binding. Unlike its U.S.-made counterpart Custom, the SE Custom Semi-Hollow has a flat top, but retains PRS’ elegant double-cutaway body design with scooped contour on the treble-side cutaway.

Hardware on the Semi-Hollow includes PRS’ proprietary wraparound tailpiece (which adjusts intonation by moving the entire tailpiece in or out using two small Allen screws), PRS-designed die-cast tuners, and strap buttons. The SE Custom Semi-Hollow is equipped with two PRS-designed exposed-coil humbuckers mounted in crème-colored pickup rings and controlled via a single master volume, master tone, and three-way toggle pickup selector. PRS uses full-sized pots, an open-frame three-way toggle selector, and shields the control cavity and cavity covers on all SE models.

Coming to us straight from the floor of the NAMM show, our SE Custom Semi-Hollow prototype is finished in Matteo Blue over a flame-maple veneer with a gloss-black body and neck.

Playability on the prototype was excellent; a dead-on straight neck with low, buzz-free action, nicely polished frets with rounded ends and a very comfortable neck profile, as well as very good access to the 22nd fret. Even though PRS calls this their “wide fat” neck profile, the width at the nut is still the standard 1¹¹/16” and the profile and slightly rolled edge make the neck feel anything but “chunky.” The combination of light weight (just over six pounds) semi-hollow body, maple top, and the wraparound tail give the Semi-Hollow a clear, resonant acoustic tone. The well-conceived, low-profile design of the PRS bridge doesn’t feel bulky or uncomfortable, as wraparound bridges sometimes can. And even though individual string intonation isn’t an option, intonation was near perfect.

To hear it, we plugged the Semi-Hollow into a Koch Twintone II 1×12” tube combo. The guitar’s excellent acoustic clarity was evident even before we plugged it in. And once we did add AC, we found all three pickup combinations to be very well-balanced, with a lush, fat tone through the Koch’s clean channel. The 25” scale length and semi-hollow construction combine to give the guitar a more-than-ample variety of clean tones, from a bright, snappy sound in the selector’s bridge and middle position, to a fat, dark jazzbox tone with the tone control rolled back and the selector in the neck position. The semi-hollow body adds punch to low-end response and warmth to the midrange, while the maple top helps it maintain clear high-end.

The guitar also performed well through the overdrive channel of the Koch, offering a clear, solid, crunchy, even rock tone with excellent note separation, even as we rolled up the amplifier’s gain. The PRS-designed humbuckers in our tester are not your standard run-of-the-mill import fare; rather, they are very nicely voiced (especially for 25”-scale guitars) with substantial gain and no feedback issues.

The selection of finishes and exotic woods may be limited with the SE Custom Semi-Hollow when compared to PRS’ core domestic models, but with its pro-level build quality, killer looks, solid tone, and effortless playability, the SE Custom Semi-Hollow is certainly worthy of the Paul Reed Smith name.

PRS SE Custom Semi-Hollow

Price: $858

Contact: PRS Guitars, 380 Log Canoe Circle, Stevensville MD 21666; www.prsguitars.com.

This article originally appeared in VG May 2007 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

January 17, 2014
Roland V-Studio 20

Roland V-Studio 20
Price: $300 (street)
Info: www.rolandus.com.

Home digital recording has come a long way in the last 20 years, to the point where top bands are cutting full albums at home. But there is still a learning curve for the uninitiated, and the software and hardware choices are dizzying. Enter Roland, whose V-Studio 20 is notable because it’s absurdly easy to use, yet has ample pro features. Let’s roll tape.

The V-Studio 20 plugs into a computer with a USB cable and is very user-friendly, with real sliders and knobs like an analog mixer. The unit also features built-in stereo mics and a conventional “tape transport” layout. The inputs accommodate a direct guitar/bass line, a pair of 1/4-inch line cables, and an XLR-type microphone. One disappointment is that the speaker outputs are RCA phono plugs and not 1/4-inch jacks for real studio monitors (thus, you may need adapters), but there are standard connections for headphones and an expression pedal.

The package comes with Cakewalk’s Guitar Tracks program, which is a simplified version of its popular Sonar (note that it’s PC only; Mac users will need their own program). Guitar Tracks is an audio sequencer that will capture, edit, and mix music, and – good news – it’s joyously simple to use. With a guitar plugged into the V-Studio 20 box, users can watch their tracks unfold onscreen as they record.

One of the great assets of the V-Studio 20 is that all the effects any user will likely need are already inside the unit. A virtual multi-effects pedalboard using the company’s COSM modeling presets pops up onscreen, where the user can use their mouse to tweak tones and effects. And the 36 internal Boss effects are very good – from clean to crunch, there’s a number of excellent amp tones, as well as loads of compression, reverb, chorus, flange, delay, and more. There’s also more than 1GB of drum tracks and loops to help build tracks further.

Perhaps the best aspect of the Roland V-Studio 20, however, is that it is highly intuitive. Even those who haven’t delved into digital recording will be able to get onboard quickly. It should be noted, though, that it’s important to have a decent PC with an up-to-date operating system. Guitar Tracks was tested on a Windows XP machine with no problem (it also works on Windows Vista and Windows 7). In all, the Roland V-Studio 20 is one of the best recording packages for the newbie out there, as well as a useful tool for more experienced players who want a simple system without the headaches.

This article originally appeared in VG August 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

January 13, 2014
Henriksen’s JazzAmp 112-ER

Henriksen’s JazzAmp 112-ER
Price: $999 (retail)
Info: www.henriksenamps.com.

Traditionally, jazz guitarists have sought a mellow tone in which single notes exhibit a horn-like timbre. Unfortunately, this often means sacrificing chord clarity. Henriksen Amplifiers’ JazzAmp series is a bid to give jazz guitarists fluid solo lines and warm, clean chordal articulation.

The JazzAmp series’ flagship is the portable 112-ER (Extended Range), which has an enlarged speaker cabinet to accommodate bassists and a switchable tweeter to enhance the response of acoustic instruments. Weighing in at 31 pounds, the 112-ER is housed in a compact 14″x15″x13″ cabinet. Eleven-ply Finnish birch is covered with tolex and reinforced with metal corners. The works are mounted on a steel chassis.

The 112-ER’s top-mounted controls include volume and five EQ knobs from 100 Hz to 10 kHz, each of which is “flat” at 12 o’clock. An on/off rocker switch (lighted when on), line out and input jacks, and a digital Reverb knob with accompanying slider on/off switch complete the lineup.

The back of the 112-ER has a metal heat sink, a power cable connector, and a tweeter on/off switch that’s mounted close to an upper corner to minimize the risk of damage. A speaker output jack allows for an 8-ohm or greater extension speaker, increasing the basic power of the JazzAmp 112-ER from 120 watts RMS to a hefty 160 watts RMS. A fuse drawer holds a 1.5-amp slow-blow fuse and a spare.

A front view of the JazzAmp shows the Eminence APT50 tweeter mounted at the upper right, a bass port at the upper left, and a 12″ Eminence Beta-A 12 speaker mounted behind an extruded metal grille featuring the JazzAmp logo. (Henriksen also makes a BluesAmp that features the Eminence Legend 1258 speaker.)

The JazzAmp comes with a succinct but informative user manual that includes warranty information (two years) and a guitar frequency chart that is helpful for dialing in desirable sounds.

The JazzAmp 112-ER was tested at two solo jazz guitar gigs with two Wilson Nouvelle 173/8″ archtop guitars, one fitted with a DeArmond Model 1100 Adjustable Rhythm Chief and the other with a Fishman archtop transducer bridge wired through a custom Paul Webb/Fishman Powerchip preamp. With the tweeter off, the 112-ER interacted with the DeArmond single-coil suspended pickup and the big spruce and maple body to produce that legato sound beloved by jazz players for single-note lines, but with fine note-to-note definition for more pianistic chord work. The five-band EQ made it easy to achieve an eminently workable plug-and-play sound, although an EQ with sliders would have made it easier to gauge the equalization visually. Switching the tweeter on changed the sound noticeably, of course, but without any jarring treble edginess – the result was still a warm jazz guitar sound, clean and never overdriven.

Although the Fishman bridge is notoriously difficult to dial in without high-end harshness, with the help of the Powerchip to boost the frequencies for a natural sound, the JazzAmp delivered a remarkably even, “woody” sound with the pickup/preamp combination. Any boominess from the thin, X-braced sound plate was easily controlled with the EQ. Fingerstyle or with a thick plectrum, the attack was defined but not scratchy.

The 112-ER also brought out the depth of sound inherent in the rosewood and spruce construction of a Martin 000-28 Clapton signature model outfitted with an LR Baggs Element pickup. The sharp voltage-related attack spikes common to under-saddle pickups were absent, even when experimenting with the tweeter on and the EQ in what, with sliders, would have been a classic “smile” configuration. Set with a flat EQ profile, the Martin sounded a bit boxy, but with five bands of EQ available, it was easy to achieve a very natural representation of the instrument. The digital reverb control delivered a subtle response until about the 11 o’clock position, where it became a more obvious effect.

The Henriksen JazzAmp 112-ER is a thoughtfully considered package, capable of translating percussive fingerstyle techniques, advanced chord voicings, and high-octane single-note lines in a warm but clean manner that old-school tube amps are hard-pressed to deliver. It also delivers enough volume for club dates, recording sessions, and rehearsals, and the line out option makes it easy to patch into a bigger sound system when necessary. The 112-ER doesn’t shoot to reproduce the visual or sonic vibe of vintage tube icons, but it’s an ideal tool for players who want to express a classic jazz sensibility while enjoying the portability and dependability of modern solidstate technology.

This article originally appeared in VG August 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

January 10, 2014
Elliot Easton

Elliot Easton: Glenn Mayeda, courtesy of Elliot Easton.

Lefty guitarist Elliot Easton has chosen a different route for his most recent musical venture, but its sonic direction should come as no surprise to any fan who has followed his long career.

Easton Island is a collection of instrumentals that showcase the melodic sensibilities of the guitarist and his current musical associates in Elliot Easton’s Tiki Gods.

In the mid-’90s, Easton played in a band known as the Tiki Gods, but, “The only similarity is the name,” he said. “That other band was R&B-based and designed to back up guest stars and jammers at the China Club; different people, completely different music.”

Many who hear the new album would opine that it’s influenced by the Ventures, Shadows, Duane Eddy, and various other early guitar-/melody-focused artists.

“They were certainly early influences, and I still love all of those – but during that period, I was also inspired by Billy Strange, Al Caiola, Tommy Tedesco, Vic Flick – people like that. And I was listening closely to Billy Mure’s Super-Sonic Guitars in Hi-Fi.”

In his formative years, Easton also paid attention to instrumental melodies and movie soundtracks.

“It’s a sound I’ve always loved,” he said. “Seeing early James Bond and Pink Panther flicks fueled the fire. Later, I learned more about the genre and listened to Les Baxter, John Barry, Ennio Morricone, etc.”

In ’95 Easton recorded “Monte Carlo Nights” with the original incarnation of the Tiki Gods, which appeared on the soundtrack of the Quentin Tarentino film Jackie Brown.

Easton’s work in previous bands typically emphasized melody rather than hypersonic guitar runs or volume, which is another reason he wanted to record an album like Easton Island.

“I’ve always been more of a melodicist, as opposed to flash for its own sake, so my playing here shouldn’t come as much of a surprise,” he said.

Another expectation would be a plethora of unique guitar licks and guitar tones, and the album delivers, offering some surprises along the way, like the twangy guitar on “Mu Empire,” which sounds something like a baritone guitar but it’s actually a ’65 Gibson ES-335 with a Bigsby vibrato.

The guitar tone on “Tabu” sounds like it might be a jazz box, and Easton confirmed that presumption.

“That one is my ’62 Gibson Barney Kessel Custom, which gets that Wes [Montgomery] tone better than any other jazz guitar I have owned. It’s a sensational guitar!”

The guitar tone switch at the 1:45 mark of “Jill’s Theme” (written for Easton’s wife) had a similar sonic mentorship, according to Easton.

“There’s that Wes Montgomery influence again!” he laughed. “I think that one was the neck pickup on my ’65 Gibson Trini Lopez Standard.”

He also used acoustic guitars on the album, and the bright lead work on “Sydney’s Samba” was played on an Ovation classical/nylon-string guitar.

Perhaps the most unique song on the album is “Sabotagia,” which contains some intriguing tempo shifts.

“It’s a song in the spy genre,” Easton explained. “But it’s more of a Cold War/Eastern European/Ipcress File sound than, say, a Bond theme.”

While Easton Island is considered an instrumental effort, some soaring/ethereal female vocals are heard on “Blue Lava” and “Nocturnia,” but it serves a more-supplemental role and is not particularly dominant in the mix.

“Those are just all effects that pop up in the Exotica idiom,” said Easton. “We liked the effect, and it fit well with the music.”

The guitarist noted several additional tracks will be available on the deluxe version of the CD that was scheduled to be marketed in May. He’s also looking into the possibility of marketing Easton Island on vinyl.

One unique visual facet of Easton’s new venture is a custom-finished example of his signature Gibson SG, which has a Polynesia-inspired design that references the new band. The front of the instrument – including the top of the pickups – has a startling graphic.

“The design is by Chris Reccardi, a fine artist and Disney animator, who also happens to be our bass player,” Easton said. “Then it was rendered in Swarovski crystals by Robert Kantor. That’s not a paint job – it’s thousands of tiny crystals!”

Easton is delighted with his most recent musical recording, and not only does he plan to do shows to promote the album, he’s seeking to pursue more soundtrack opportunities.

“This is an ongoing thing,” he enthused. “We plan on playing lots of shows and making more records! We also see our music as being ideal for film or TV, and we want to either license or compose new material for those media. I’m delighted with the band’s lineup, and everyone performed at the peak of their abilities, so I can’t ask for more than that!”

This article originally appeared in VG August 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

January 9, 2014
Magnatone Twilighter

Magnatone Twilighter
Price: $2,249 (12″ combo, list)
Info: www.magnatoneusa.com.

Magnatone is dead, long live Magnatone! The original Magnatone amp company died in 1969 after several decades of making storied “Golden Voice” amps noted for their “real” vibrato effect. Buddy Holly played his Strat through one, Scotty Moore swore by his, and Neil Young remains a believer.

Now, Magnatone is back, and that vibrato sounds sweeter than ever.

We can thank Ted Kornblum for the revival. His family founded St. Louis Music, creators of Crate amps and Alvarez guitars and long-time owners of Ampeg. Launched at January’s NAMM show, the new Magnatone line is American-built, tube-powered boutique amps.

The Magnatone Twilighter will be familiar to vintage fans, resurrecting the look of the original company’s Custom 200 Series of 1957 to 1961, which introduced the vibrato effect. The Twilighter is powered by a GZ34 and a pair of 6V6s for 22 watts in a Class AB design. The test model had a single 12-inch Eminence Governor speaker, but production units will switch to a proprietary speaker made by WGS (a Celestion Blue Alnico upgrade is available).

In honor of Buddy and his beloved Magnatone 280, The Twilighter was tested with a ’56 Stratocaster and proved itself a time machine back to a classic rock and roll sound. This is not a bluesman’s amp: the sound doesn’t easily break up, but for an amp of this power, that’s what overdrive pedals are for. On the other hand, the Twilighter also doesn’t have a lot of headroom, but you don’t usually get that in a smaller combo. Instead, its creamy tone and clear voice would have earned an approving nod from Buddy.

On the road to resurrecting Magnatone, Kornblum enlisted the aid of several notables to voice and test the amps. Young’s guitar tech Larry Cragg helped voice the Single V model. The Rolling Stones are using the new amps on their 50th anniversary tour and Keith Richards has a 10-watt Lyric model for his dressing-room practice amp.

Billy F Gibbons is recording and touring with a prototype Magnatone Super Fifty-Nine, its 45 watts arriving via a pair of EL34 power tubes with two 12″ speakers. Gibbons explains the allure of Magnatone and its vibrato: “Fender amps used a tremolo that blossomed loud and then retreated. The Magnatone’s vibrato was a completely different animal. It used an oddball device called a varistor, which created all-genuine, real vibrato, changing the note’s pitch.”

Magnatone’s “Golden Voice” frequency-modulating vibrato came thanks to engineer Donald L. Bonham, who filed for a patent on his invention in 1954. While Fender and others boasted of having “vibrato” in their amps, the effects were actually just tremolos. Now, Kornblum’s new amps use the same vibrato with silicone-carbide varistors as the originals.

Dial in the Twilighter’s vibrato, and the real fun begins. Strum shimmering chords, hit warbling, watery single notes, or, at an extreme, create Theremin-like wails. The effect is so cool, so far out, that you can’t get enough.

Controls allow the player to adjust vibrato speed and intensity and shift between vibrato and conventional tremolo. The solidly built foot pedal alters the speed of the vibrato or lets you “wah” it between fast and slow to articulate the voice.

The Twilighter also includes reverb with a tube-driven, four-counter-wound-spring long pan. It’s a nice reverb sound, but the unit only has one control, dialing in the amount of reverb but not allowing dwell adjustment. Thus, for all practical purposes, the reverb is really either on or off. More control would be welcome.

The Twilighter’s look is a stylish facelift of the original Custom 200 Series and leaves nothing to be desired. The solid cabinet is constructed of plywood and well finished in vintage brown leatherette. A strong, high-quality leather handle lifts the unit, which is not light: the combo weighs about 55 pounds.

The Twilighter is available in several forms: the combo as tested or with the upgrade Celestion; a head unit with either a 1×12 or 2×10 extension cab, the later fitted with Jensen P10Rs; or as a stereo combo with four 6V6s, 22 watts per channel, and twin 12s.

This is not a reissue. Rather, it’s a modern take on a classic, with upgrades and refinements that would make it a great gigging amp boasting a tone that oozes a glorious vintage vibe.

This article originally appeared in VG August 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

January 9, 2014
J.D. Simo

J.D. Simo moved to Nashville seven years ago and quickly landed in the coveted hot spot as the lead guitarist in the Don Kelley band. After four years playing four nights a week in Nashville’s lower Broadway district, Simo took a hard left, forming a power trio that bears his name (with bassist Frank Swart and drummer Adam Abrashoff) and carries late-’60s rock sensibilities with strong improvisational leanings. Simo – the band – has since been blazing trails across the U.S. We caught up with its leader as the group readied a second studio album.

Why does a guy making inroads as a session player and playing with the Don Kelley gig set it aside to start a rock band?
The desire was always there, and I had tried to make this happen before, but the chemistry hadn’t been there. When Frank called me to jam with him and Adam, I quickly found that these were the only guys I wanted to play with.

Has playing in the band setting changed your gear choices?
Completely. I’d always lusted after the Gibson/Marshall thing, which suited the sound of this band. My love of Duane Allman, Paul Kossoff, Billy Gibbons, Jeff Beck Group, and late-’60s Clapton shaped my desire for that sound.

Gary Bohannon helped me get my tone together. I had a reissue Les Paul, a Marshall, and some boutique amps, but Gary helped me understand how frequencies need to blend in a band, and how to keep things from sounding like mud. That long journey really sent me playing all sorts of gear. So between Gary and Tommy Hatcher, I got to play through a ton of vintage Marshalls. I landed on a ’67 100-watt Super PA, which is essentially a ’67 Super Bass and is cleaner that the ’69 50-watt I was using. Going to the 100-watt had less to do with volume than the feel, frequencies, and lack of compression. The 50-watter’s compression made it hard for my guitar to mix well with the rhythm section.

The next step was acquisition of the ’62 ES-335, which Gary pulled out one day. It had a Bigsby on it at the time, but it was red with the block inlays. I convinced him to switch it to stop-tail, as the holes were already drilled. When he did, the guitar opened up and I found myself selling everything I owned to buy it from him, and now I don’t have a want for anything else! That, along with a wah and the Marshall, and I’m very happy.

Do you use a variac with the Marshall?
I do. Gary showed me how to use one to get the most out of the amp. Marshalls and old Voxes want to see 110 volts, but we get 120 to 128, which will kill tubes, so the variac lowers the voltage going to the transformers and tubes. The amp sounds better and last longer.

What kind of wah?
I use a Dunlop Bonamassa that I modified; it had a tad too much low-end and the throw of it was a little too long. I also painted it psychedelic. I had a ’67 Vox wah and it was the best-sounding wah, but it broke down, which really broke my heart.

The key to a good-sounding wah is to have it be a bit microphonic and having a shorter throw. Something being extremely microphonic is a problem, but being less so gives it a very reactive, and human, quality. Bonamassa showed me his and I was ready to try it – and I was ready to be less than impressed. But I was very pleasantly surprised. The second I plugged it into my rig, I knew it was right. It had that microphonic quality I was looking for. It is a great wah, and you can tailor it some like I did, if you want to.

How do you keep your sound consistent from venue to venue using a single guitar, amp, and wah?
When we started, we set up like most bands do, with our amps facing the audience. Frank, who is a successful engineer and producer, was getting frustrated with just the issue you are bringing up, consistency of sound from room to room. One night, he suggested we face our amps sideways, pointing at ourselves, not the audience, and we found that our sound was much more consistent. This also keeps our amps from beaming sound directly out into the audience, and we don’t have to rely on monitors. As far as the one-guitar thing, I really think bonding with one guitar really allows me to know the nuances of it, and play it better. And frankly, all of my favorite guitar players were known for playing one instrument.

This article originally appeared in VG August 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

January 8, 2014
Renaissance T-200G

1980 Renaissance T-200G

What is it about Plexiglas? It’s so cool. You can see through it onstage. It’s dense, yet resonant. You’d think it would be the perfect medium for a mean rock and roll machine. And it’s not like people haven’t tried! But for some mysterious reason(s), practically every attempt to make a successful Plexiglas guitar has ended in, if not failure, at least some sort of debacle. Like with this 1980 Renaissance T-200G. The Renaissance guitar company was one of the latter instances, a debacle.

Plexiglas (or Lucite, both trade names), a clear polyacrylic thermoplastic made from acrylic acid, was developed during World War II. Plexiglas first showed up on guitars as trim in the 1950s, as fingerboards on lap steels and butterfly tuner buttons on some Klusons. Magnatone used a remarkable sandwich of blue-tinted plexiglas and aluminum on its spectacular Model 216 lap steel.

But as far as we know, the first use of Plexiglas for the body of a guitar was the so-called “Swan” made by EKO and a few one-offs by Fender in the early 1960s. These were basically promotional guitars made for music trade shows, not really production models available to the public, although the guitar seen here is hardly much different.

The first production Plexiglas guitar was the famous Ampeg Dan Armstrong “see-through” guitar offered from 1969 to ’71. Indeed, some of the first Japanese “copy” guitars introduced in 1970 were knock-offs of the Ampeg, including versions by Ibanez, Aria, Univox, and St. Louis Music’s The Electra, which became their brand name in the ’70s, They were pretty close but didn’t have removable pickups or the weird Danelectro bridges. To be honest, those knock-offs were a little lighter and often played better than the Ampeg original!

Despite use by Keith Richard, the Plexiglas idea had limited uptake. But the notion didn’t die. The idea was revived in 1977 in the then pretty rural Philadelphia suburb of Malvern, Pennsylvania, in the form of Renaissance guitars and basses. The man who initiated Renaissance was John Marshall, a local guitarist who learned guitarmaking from Eric Schulte and Augie LoPrinzi, both Philadelphia-area luthiers. He hooked up with two other partners, Phil Goldberg, who had a music store and was involved with a local recording studio, and Dan Lamb, a local studio guitarist. After some discussion, the decision was made to build in Plexiglas. Marshall designed the guitar and bass, which was a sort of cross between a Les Paul and Telecaster. Production commenced in 1978. Both guitars and basses had active circuitry with DiMarzio pickups. They were offered in Clear, Smokey Grey, and Black Plexi.

Renaissance had big plans for national distribution, but progress was slow and the brand never got much further than the Mid-Atlantic region. After about a year, trouble began to brew. Marshall, disgruntled, left the company to become a luthier for Martin. Renaissance began to have financial troubles.

In 1979, Renaissance recruited another area guitarist and music store owner from Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, John Dragonetti, to invest in the company. It proved a disastrous financial decision!

No sooner had Dragonetti been convinced to put in some hard-earned cash, the business exploded. His money had gone to pay bills and the I.R.S. was zeroing in. By 1980 he found himself in complete control of the company – but not in control of much. To try to save things, Dragonetti set about redesigning the line. He wasted a lot of time addressing player complaints that the guitars wouldn’t hold their tune due to expansion of the Plexiglas. And the guitars were just too expensive to make given their wholesale price, which was around $350.

His first solution was the guitar shown here, inspired by the B.C. Rich Bich. Active-electronics guitars had not been very popular, so he switched to passive DiMarzios, which allowed him to lighten the guitar by making it thinner, making players happy and saving on material. The original Renaissance company had been making its own components, including bridges and even knobs. Dragonetti switched to standard parts. He even tried outsourcing all or part of production, but had no luck.

Despite the cost-saving efforts, this is still a pretty deluxe guitar. In addition to the labor-heavy body, it sports a solid mahogany neck and an ebony fingerboard. In keeping with the style of the time, its fretboard side dots and nut are brass. This guitar has a Leo Quan Badass bridge, and pickups are DiMarzio X2N humbuckers, similar to Super Distortions popular at the time.

In addition to this model, Renaissance offered a corresponding bass and another shape without the scoop on the butt-end and a wavy lower bout. This latter model came with one or two pickups and in a bass version, as well.

John Dragonetti’s efforts actually briefly looked like they might be successful. At the summer NAMM show of 1980, Sunn amplifiers, enamored of Renaissance basses, approached him about building a line of guitars. Just at that moment, another company’s sales rep knocked a bass over and broke it, pointing out how poorly made it was. Sunn got spooked and backed out. Which probably was okay, because they promptly went out of business. And Renaissance’s number finally came up at the I.R.S. By the fall of ’80, Renaissance guitars were no more.

All Renaissance guitars and basses are pretty rare. Only 250 to 300 of the original design were produced, about two thirds of those basses, putting the guitars probably a little south of 100. Of the Dragonetti designs, only about 18 wavy guitars were built. Only five or six of the guitar shown here were ever made, making it about as rare as you can get.

The Plexiglas concept didn’t die with Renaissance. Recently, St. Louis Music reissued the original Ampeg guitar. B.C. Rich, inspiration of this design, offered a Plexi version of its Bich. And to celebrate the Milennium, Ibanez produced about 100 Plexi Joe Satriani guitars. Who knows? Maybe one day one of these will be a huge success! Then again, we wouldn’t have these rare birds to keep our eyes peeled for!

This article originally appeared in VG‘s February 2009 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

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January 8, 2014
Carvin’s AE185-12

Carvin’s AE185-12
Price: $1,239 (base retail)
Info: www.carvinguitars.com.

Most guitarists love the sound of a 12-string, but the thought of owning one often raises several questions. Should you get an acoustic or an electric? What about controlling feedback onstage? And aren’t they hard to tune? Carvin attempts to answer all of these questions with the AE185-12, a 12-string with both electric and piezo/acoustic pickups.

At first, the AE185-12 seems too good to be true: a thinline 12-string with both acoustic and electric tones, and weighing only 6.25 pounds. Moreover, this Carvin sports 24 frets on a thinner electric-style neck with the kind of super-low action the company is famous for. The guitar also has some formidable electronics. Interested? Thought so.

The test guitar was highly customized, featuring a mahogany body with a super-flamey maple top and a single f-hole (the stock version comes with an Englemann spruce top; see the website for available custom options). The AE185-12 neck is a through design and also made of mahogany. Its 24-fret ebony fingerboard has a 14″ radius and Carvin’s popular 25″ neck scale. The neck also features a 1.69″ nut and TUSQ saddle, with the strings feeding through the body. The headstock has Carvin’s new 19:1 locking tuners (six per side), so any tuning concerns flew out the window – the AE185-12 stays in tune like a champ. The test instrument also had chrome hardware (standard), abalone diamond inlays (white pearl dots are standard), tortoise body binding (another custom touch), and an abalone Carvin logo on the headstock.

For electronics, the test AE185-12 was equipped with standard Carvin humbuckers (C22J neck and C22B bridge; again, custom options abound), as well as an LR Baggs Ribbon Transducer for acoustic tones. No surprise, this puppy runs on active power, so a 9-volt battery compartment is located in the rear. For controls, there’s a master volume and active tone for the humbuckers, along with a three-way pickup selector. The Baggs piezo system has an active tone circuit, and a Pan control to blend the acoustic and electric sounds. Even sweeter are the separate output jacks for acoustic and electric signals, allowing the player to route them to different amps or PA inputs. There’s even a mono output to combine them for everyday convenience.

In the hand, the AE185-12 exhibits all the qualities that Carvin is famous for: a slim, super-fast neck with Carvin’s Rapid Play setup, a light body that hangs comfortably on a strap, and controls that are conveniently located for tweaking on the fly. The neck profile is a flatter “C” shape and very comfy to grip, even over the 15th fret (all 22 frets are easily accessible). The 25-inch scale is a joy, and the string spacing is great for both fingerpicking and flatpick work. The fast neck is also perfectly shred-ready – burning up and down the fingerboard is no problem.

Sound-wise, the AE185-12 offers myriad tones, from shimmering electric to fairly realistic acoustic. From the Beatles to the Byrds to “Stairway to Heaven” and any number of tracks from Yes, Genesis, or R.E.M., the AE185-12 can be mined for a world of 12-string textures. Granted, the guitar’s “acoustic” dimension doesn’t have the same depth as the genuine article, but for the gigging and recording player, this guitar could be a lifesaver. In fact, many listeners will never notice the difference.

Like most Carvins, the AE185-12 gets predictably high marks in sound, playability, and overall value. You have to admire Carvin designers for spending so much time figuring out the things that players really want and then making them reality. Certainly, George Harrison’s Rickenbacker 360/12 and Jimmy Page’s Gibson EDS-1275 were incredible instruments, but it’s quite likely that George and Jimmy would have drooled over the AE185-12. It’s a terrific reinvention of the 12-string guitar and one that will appeal to electric and acoustic enthusiasts equally.

This article originally appeared in VG August 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

January 8, 2014
Etched in Time

Christian Roebling’s 1984 Les Paul.

In 1984, Christian Roebling went from being just another guy watching TV to creating what was likely the first television program to focus on and feature guitar players and builders. Though few outside of New York City knew of its existence, in its six years on the air, “The Guitar Show” played host to some of the heaviest hitters in guitardom.

The show essentially began one night when Roebling tuned to Manhattan Cable television and saw “…a guy doing a live show and taking phone calls from viewers.” That guy happened to be Jim Chladek, owner of Metro Access and a pioneer in cable television. Roebling called in and, on the air, asked, “How can somebody do a show?”

Soon after, he visited Chladek in the studio and was offered a job. “Back then, on-the-job training was the only way to learn,” he said. “So I started pulling cables, sweeping floors, doing audio, operating the camera – I learned every job in the studio.”

Though his salary was far from a king’s ransom, Roebling was attracted to the gig because it was a wonderful opportunity to learn, and provided a creative outlet via the element that sealed the deal – two hours of studio time each week. A certifiable guitarhead, Roebling knew exactly what he wanted to do.

“The concept was simple; a weekly show dedicated to the guitar, its players, and manufacturers,” he said. “All I had to do was look in The Village Voice to see who was playing around town – there was no shortage of players on any given week.”

While his expectations may have been realistic, his thoughts for a first guest were, he admits, a bit “pie in the sky.”

“I knew my first guest had to be Les Paul,” he said. “Les played every Monday night at Fat Tuesdays in New York City, so I went to see him on August 20. I remember sitting there, amazed at watching him play and tell these wonderful stories. He was generous with his time and talked to everyone who approached after his set. And he would sign anything – guitars, pickguards, photographs – smiling the whole time.

“I waited until after his last set, so I could ask him to be on the show. I thought he’d ask ‘Who are you?’ or say ‘Get away from me, kid!’ or ‘Sure, and bring lots of money!’ – which I didn’t have! But when I told him about that show and how I thought he would be the perfect first guest, he said, ‘Sure, bring your crew next week.’

“So, on August 27, he let us film his entire set. Afterward, he spoke to everyone in the club, then sat to talk while the bartender stacked chairs. Les never rushed, and talked as long as I had questions.”

Roebling left the club that night on an undeniable (and justified) “success high.” But of course one episode – stellar though it may be – didn’t mean he had a “show.” There would have to be other guests, and he faced a daunting challenge finding a suitable follow-up, but…

“I had a friend who knew Rick Derringer,” he said. “Rick was a favorite of mine since his early hits and I remember seeing him tear the roof off of The Spectrum in Philadelphia in 1972 with Johnny Winter And. So I gave him a call. At first, he played the role of rock star – a bit standoffish, like, ‘I dunno… Who’s been on?’ When I told him Les Paul was on the first episode, he totally changed! He was like, ‘Let me know when and where!’ He was wonderful to be around, and as a guest he was fantastic.”

Lining up artists for subsequent episodes, the first question was usually like Derringer’s; “Who’s been on?” But once told who had appeared in episodes one and two, they signed on. Larry Coryell was third, and for 50 episodes, Roebling says he never had trouble filling guest slots.

’88 J-200, replete with signatures carved into virtually every inch of their bodies, front and back.

“One of the highlights for me was booking Jimmy Page,” he recalled. “That episode was taped at Les Paul’s house when Led Zeppelin had reunited to play Live Aid. Jimmy brought all of his guitars for the show, including his iconic Gibson doubleneck, the Fender ‘Bender,’ and his Les Paul Standard, and he got to hang with one of his idols! I don’t know how it could have gotten any better than that.”

“The Guitar Show” didn’t discriminate when it came to genres. Legends from the jazz realm appeared, including Joe Pass, Tal Farlow, Jim Hall, Charlie Byrd, John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Larry Coryell, Emily Remler, and others. Fans of the blues got to enjoy Roebling’s talks with Johnny “Clyde” Copeland, John Hammond, Duke Robillard, Ronnie Earl, Joe Louis Walker, and others, while rock fans saw Roebling sit with idols like Page, Derringer, Paul Gilbert, Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda of Twisted Sister, and Phil and Dave Alvin from The Blasters. Even classical guitarists were represented by Sharon Isbin, Benjamin Verdery, and Carlos Barbosa-Lima. Then there were those who trended toward uncategorizable, like Richie Havens, Cornell Dupree, Adrian Legg, John Fahey, and Danny Gatton.

Today, Roebling keeps alive the memories of the show by way of the internet (search youtube.com for Front Row Music NYC) and two pieces of memorabilia he holds very close to his heart – guitars given to the show. The first is an ’84 Les Paul that Roebling obtained by contacting Norlin Industries, Gibson’s parent company at the time. “I asked if they wanted to be on the first show, since Les Paul was going to be the guest. I suggested they appear to talk about new products and, of course, Les. In return, I asked them to leave a guitar so I could have future guests engrave their autographs into it.”

Paul did indeed engrave his signature, along with the date. “Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown signed the Les Paul along the entire fretboard!” said Roebling. “Danny Gatton signed it under the strings, and as he was doing so, he jokingly said, ‘I should be behind bars!’”

By 1988, its body surfaces started running out of space, Roebling called Gibson and then-new CEO Henry Juszkiewicz to see if he wanted to be a guest, and donate another guitar. “I told Henry we needed a larger guitar to hold a lot of signatures, so I requested a black J-200.” Juszkiewicz and Gibson obliged.

Les Paul was the first guest on “The Guitar Show,” and the first to engrave his signature on Roebling’s Les Paul.

Other manufacturers who appeared included Bill Kaman, president of Ovation, as well as Steve Grom from Fender, Paul Reed Smith from PRS, Rich Lasner and Bill Cummiskey from Ibanez, Jim Funada from Yamaha, Ned Steinberger, Chris Martin, Seymour Duncan, and Dennis Berardi from Kramer.

The final episode of “The Guitar Show” aired in 1990 and when he looks back today, Roebling is well aware that beyond having Les Paul do the first show (“Without Les, none of it would have happened,” he says), the world – and TV production – were very different in the mid ’80s.

“The whole system was simpler – I had a free studio, the airtime on Manhattan Cable TV was free, the director and crew were my friends, who worked for free! I only had to pay for the tape stock and spend a bit of money to edit the show.”

Roebling went on to produce a video magazine called “GuitarVisions” (1990-’91), which featured Steve Stevens, Michael Hedges, Ralph Towner, John Fahey, “Gatemouth” Brown, Birelli Lagrene, and others, followed by “Guitar Masters,” (’92) where he interviewed Jeff Golub, Reeves Gabrels, John Petrucci, and Sonny Landreth, a video documentation of Scott Chinery’s Blue Guitar Party (’96) where Roebling interviewed Scotty Moore, Steve Howe, Bob Brozman, and others, and video for the “JVC Jazz Tribute To Johnny Smith” (’99). Since 2000, he has worked with Stefan Grossman, helping produce instructional videos by Rory Block, Martin Taylor, and Grossman himself. He also directed a series of “Guitar Artistry” videos for David Bromberg, Woody Mann, and Geoff Muldaur.

Today, Roebling is an experienced gigging guitarist/singer/songwriter who plays reguarly around NYC and recently recorded an album titled Leave Here Runnin.’ “Making ‘The Guitar Show’ was an incredible experience,” he said. “It was the only weekly television show dedicated to the guitar. I had a front-row seat to the world’s greatest guitar players.” Today, he regularly fields requests to re-start the series, and agrees its time may have come.

This article originally appeared in VG August 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

January 7, 2014
Tremcaster Single Ninety

Price: $1,250
Info: www.tremcaster.com

Today’s guitar market is one of extreme preferences. For some, the idea of countless options and exotic woods and craftsmanship is the name of the game. For others, the tendency is more toward “aged” instruments that recall days gone by. What often seem to be missing on this spectrum are instruments that fall somewhere in the middle. This is where Ohio luthier John Mosconi and his team have found their niche – making handcrafted guitars with vintage inspiration, but with basic, modern functionality. Their latest offering is the Tremcaster Single Ninety, a minimalist’s dream.

The Single Ninety uses Tremcaster’s patented body and headstock styling with a super-lightweight pine body bolted to a maple-on-maple honey-lacquered neck. An optional rosewood fingerboard is available for those who desire a little deeper tone and midrange. The headstock is finished in a honey lacquer reminiscent of other amber-tinted finishes on the market. Gotoh vintage-style tuners have a classic nickel finish, and a hand-cut bone nut rounds out the neck’s traditional appointments.

The Single Ninety’s body continues the guitar’s minimal, straightforward approach. There is no binding but a range of classic colors recall the ’50s and ’60s. The test model came in a nicely sprayed vintage white with just the right hint of cream. The body hardware also exhibited a vintage flair, as well as pro-quality components, including a Schaller roller bridge and a Bigsby tailpiece.

Giving the Single Ninety its oomph are electronics designed to rock. A Gibson P-90 holds the guitar’s lone pickup position, giving it the spirit of a Junior but also added versatility, thanks to a three-way switch with bassy, normal, and hot positions, allowing much more diversity than normally found in P-90-style instruments. The attention to detail is taken even further with the use of Switchcraft controls and CTS potentiometers. The end result is a handcrafted, American-made instrument that won’t break the bank.

The Single Ninety was put through its paces both live and in the studio. The process proved just how diverse the aforementioned features make this instrument. For a single-pickup guitar, the tonal options were impressive. The bassier setting truly offered the most applications for non-rock styles. The roundness was right at home for cleaner tones. Here, blues and chicken-picked country seemed to excel, and even clean runs for modern jazz styles and even fusion.

The normal setting was classic P-90 and tailored to the needs of more classic rock styles. With a slightly compressed setting, some spring reverb with tremolo, and application of the Bigsby, let there be no question that the Tremcaster Single Ninety will transport the player to Surf Central. In fact, it might be difficult to not want to just “hang ten” all day on the Single Ninety, but this guitar definitely has more to offer.

As hinted at earlier, if there is one thing that this guitar can do it is rock out. Without fail, the Single Ninety kept driving and the harder it was pushed the more it liked to open up. The hotter switch position on the Single Ninety translates to a superb, souped-up Junior tone. Aggressive but with plenty of bite, the guitar can flat out demolish power chords. The pine body surprisingly gives it a nice top end, preventing the P-90 from getting either muddy or overly twangy. Pine has never been a popular option for instruments, but the Single Ninety makes an argument for it being used more often.

Kudos to Tremcaster for offering a unique and straightforward instrument in the Single Ninety. Its styling may not be for everyone, but the guitar can hang in there with any rocker and is a lot more diverse than what might initially meet the eye. The best part is the price – at just over a grand this is an American-made instrument priced like similar import models. Who wouldn’t prefer to support our own when it comes to a handbuilt low-production-run guitar?

This article originally appeared in VG August 2013 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

January 7, 2014