Review by Ian Garrett The Guitar: Fender Total Tone ’57 Stratocaster in Daphne Blue, Relic The Point: Authentic look and feel of an original 1957 Stratocaster with modern updates The Damage: $3,699 Imagine being given the opportunity to pick out, for free, any Fender Custom Shop guitar in stock at ProGuitarShop. Would you choose a Telecaster? Maybe a Stratocaster? Perhaps you’re a Jazzmaster fan? Nearly three years ago, this was the “dilemma” I faced after winning the PGS 48 Hour Fender Custom Shop Giveaway. Yep, some tough choices were in order. But I found “the one” for me, a re-creation of
First, the Fancy Internet Drummer Replacement: Top 10 Drummer Jokes 1.What is the difference between a pizza and a drummer? The Pizza can feed a family of four 2.What’s the last thing a drummer says in a band? “Hey Guys, why don’t we try one of my songs? 3.What do you call a drummer in a three-piece suit? The Defendant 4.Did you hear about the drummer that went to college? Me Neither. 5.How do you make a drummer’s car more aerodynamic? Take the pizza delivery sign off the roof. 6.What is the difference between a drummer and a savings bond? The savings bond will mature and
Review by Ian Garrett The Pedal: Bogner Ecstasy Blue Overdrive The Point: Plexi and “Bogner Blue Channel” tones The Damage: $300 Find the Ecstasy Blue at PGS One of the hottest pedal makers in the last few months to hit the overdrive/distortion market is amp builder Bogner. The Ecstasy Blue Overdrive (Blue) is their take on the classic “plexi” tones and the Bogner “Blue” channel featured on their amplifiers. The Blue is one of three pedals in the line, which features low-to medium-gain overdrive,
Greetings, everyone! Last month we highlighted five affordable tone tips to help you tweak your tone and get yourself just a little bit closer to your own holy guitar-tone grail. This month we’re giving you part DEUX of this series—because we want you exploring every inch of your rig for ways to fine tune your tone and because you don’t need to spend a ton of money to make big changes in the sound coming out of your hands, guitar, amp, etc. Let’s look at a few more ways to explore the possibilities… CABLE It’s easy to overlook cables as a component in your rig. A good
by Daniel Brooks It may be that the 1970s were destined to be funky. James Brown had been getting into the roots of some powerfully rhythmic soul for most of the previous decade, and by the end of the 60s, bands like Funkadelic, Sly & the Family Stone, Tower of Power, the Meters, the Ohio Players, and others had begun to dig deep into the inspiration found in its hypnotic groove and passionate lyrical themes. Though it was well on its way by 1972, funk got funkier with the debut of a completely new kind of stand-alone effects pedal. The Musitronics Mu-Tron III created a whole new category of effects, and most musicians believe the standard it set for all of
by Daniel Brooks Image Credit joebeone A guitar requires a little maintenance now and then, just like any other fine-tuned, high-performance piece of equipment. You probably learned how to do the essential, routine tasks when you first began learning how to play the instrument, and unless you are a working musician who wisely hires a guitar tech to keep your collection stage ready, you wouldn’t dream of paying anyone to restring, tune, clean, polish, or do basic bridge and pickup adjustments on your guitar. Of course, there are those repair jobs that require the expertise of a professional. Maybe you have the proper knowledge and
by Daniel Brooks Let’s hear it for the obscure guitars. We’ve all seen them. Those rare, humble instruments that spend years collecting dust in pawn shops and thrift shops, those garage sale discoveries with the unfamiliar brand on their headstocks, and body designs that might be thought of as, well, quirky. Guitars laden with experimental pickups and hardware, and switching that is nothing short of esoteric. Many of these are obscure for a reason. Time, cheap materials, badly designed components, and careless construction have rendered them barely playable, and probably not worth a new set of strings. But hidden amongst the trash, there are underappreciated treasures just waiting to be discovered for which it is worth
by Daniel Brooks Think of the historic guitars of the 20th century, and realize the impact Gibson has had on our music. Robert Johnson played his L-1 to define the Delta Blues for generations. Charlie Christian’s ES-150 allowed the Jazz guitarist to be heard in a big band for the first time. Woody Guthrie stood up for humanity with his 1945 Gibson L-0, decorated with his famous sign that read “This Machine Kills Fascists.” Elvis strummed his J-200, swung his hips, and established rock and roll as the most significant and popular form of music of the coming decades. Keith Richards picked up his ‘59 Les Paul to record “Satisfaction,” and kick the British Invasion
