Horses of Another Color
1) This ’57, from batch 253xx, has the added intrigue of a gold G-cutout tailpiece in place of the Bigsby vibrato. In addition to the standard Amber Red stain on the 6120, the Bigsby was requisite on the Atkins-endorsed models. Having a 6120 that lacks both the finish and the vibrato seem to constitute heresy! […]
Gibson’s Budget Redux
As the 1960s rolled into the ’70s, Gibson had established itself in the electric-bass market with front-line instruments such as the solidbody EB-0/EB-3 and Thunderbirds, as well as the semi-hollow EB-2 series. However, it struggled to win a share of the budget market despite offering a bass version of its popular Melody Maker and the […]
Lace Cybercaster LS
The mere name of Don Lace’s Cybercaster may set calloused fingertips to head-scratching. After all, “cyber” connotes cutting-edge, futuristic. How could that possibly jibe with “caster,” which implies beloved mid-century designs? Truth be told, though, cutting-edge and retro go hand in hand on the sleek Cybercaster, which gives off a hint of Selmer on its […]
Ken Fischer
Although by most estimates he produced fewer than 100 Trainwreck amps, Ken Fischer – tech, designer, and amp-maker – will be remembered as one of the most authoritative and intuitive tube-amp gurus ever to have touched soldering iron to circuit. Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1945, Fischer died at his home in Colonia on […]
Marc Bonilla
On March 11, 2016, keyboardist Keith Emerson took his own life. He was 71 and left a legacy of groundbreaking music that brought together the worlds of rock and classical. In May of 2016, a tribute concert was organized by guitarist and bandmate Marc Bonilla, featuring Emerson’s music with guests Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Jordan Rudess, […]
Electro-Harmonix Operation Overlord Allied Overdrive
Like its namesake World War II invasion, Electro-Harmonix’s Operation Overlord Allied Overdrive involves an assault of sorts – though this particular Operation Overlord’s attack is solely one of grease, gain, and grit. Originally developed to allow keyboardists to mimic the kind of tube overdrive guitarists have enjoyed since the birth of rock and roll, Operation […]
Jim Peterik
Guitarist/songwriter Jim Peterik, who helped compose hit songs like “Eye of the Tiger” and “Hold On Loosely,” has remained active in music and other artistic pursuits – and has long been an avid guitar collector. “I’ve added a few beauties in the last couple of years – a ’67 Firebird I in Inverness Green, near-mint […]
The MXR Eric Gales EG74 Raw Dawg
During a recording career that spans three decades and includes 19 albums, blues guitarist Eric Gales has achieved a reputation for solos that are a deluge of precise notes delivered with passion. When pedal and accessory manufacturer Jim Dunlop asked Gales what he would like in a pedal, the guitarist was quick to respond, “A […]
Tx-Watt Flagship
For more than three decades on the Texas roadhouse circuit, guitarist Jack Kay’s love of vintage Fender and Marshall tones often had him using both amplifier brands at the same gig. Envisioning one capable of producing American and British sounds, the founder of Tx-Watt embarked on a quest to build the ultimate amp. After 10 […]
Fender American Professional Jazzmaster
From the get-go, Fender’s Jazzmaster was the black sheep of the family – that wild-at-heart uncle your ma warned you about. Happily, it’s happily back in the lineup with the American Professional model, part reissue, part refined modern guitar. The original Jazzmaster was unveiled at NAMM in 1958 as Fender’s flagship – the upmarket big […]
Dynamic Amplifiers 2040 Series
Dynamic Amps 2040 series Price: $2,570 (VA Combo) David Carambula’s Dynamic 2040 series of amplifiers consists of three models: Vintage American (VA), Vintage British (VB), and the HG DynaLead. All use class AB single-channel design that can utilize a variety of output tubes, with output reduction, tube rectifier, tube-driven tremolo, spring reverb, welded-aluminum chassis, point-to-point […]
Remembering Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck, the guitarist who pushed the ’60s British Invasion band the Yardbirds from its electric-blues roots to a contemporary rock-and-roll sound before becoming one of the most-influential musicians of his generation, died January 10 after being stricken with bacterial meningitis. He was 78. Born Geoffrey Arnold to Arnold and Ethel Beck on June 24, […]
Scotty Moore’s Gibson ES-295
Like a hound dog hit by lightning, the first notes of rock and roll blasted out of radios across the country in July of 1954, courtesy of Elvis Presley’s supercharged-hillbilly singing on “That’s All Right” and “Blue Moon Of Kentucky,” backed by Scotty Moore’s guitar. It was the twang heard ’round the world. That guitar […]
The Ovation Adamas II
What do you get when you cross a helicopter with a Martin dreadnought? Easy answer – Ovation guitars, perhaps the greatest champion of alternative materials in an age when traditional woods like Brazilian rosewood and Honduran mahogany have become virtually extinct. Among Ovation’s alt-material creations, the Adamas is the ultimate expression. The father of Ovation […]
Ecco-Fonic
John Adomono was an American guitar hero of the Cold War years. JFK named him his favorite guitarist, and Adomono played a command performance at the White House. He performed on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” jammed with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, and Martin Denny. And at the dawn of the Space Race, […]
Larry McCray
Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.” After 40 years playing the blues, Larry McCray has lived it. And while his star is rising late thanks to a bump from Joe […]
Steve Hill
Canadian guitarist Steve Hill is a flat-out rocker, smashing blues into rock and roll with terrifying force, as heard on his latest, Dear Illusion. Often playing as a genuine one-man band with foot-powered drums, Hill drapes his new music with horns, powerhouse vocals, and guitar solos steeped in the blues. Pickin’ and poppin’ strings with […]