Saturday, January 30th, 2010
Tuned in Fretbase reader Matt sent us this video. It features John Petrucci walking through what is probably the most amazing set of guitars and gear we’ve ever seen in our lives. Seriously. This guy’s rig is amazing. You’ll have to check out the video to see what I’m talking about.
Friday, January 29th, 2010
We wrote earlier this month about the rumor that Recording King would be partnering with Eric Schoenberg on some new acoustics - and it turns out our source was in the know. This week Recording King announced the release of the Recording King RP1-626 and the Recording King RP2-626 - a single 0 parlor size cutaway and a 00-size with a cutaway body respectively. Both guitars are intended to provide players with an even frequency response, clarity and a winder neck with a cutaway providing good access to the upper frets.
Friday, January 29th, 2010
AXL (pronounced A.X.L.) makes pretty interesting guitars that feature distressed bodies that have a very unique looking relic to them. These are U.S. designed guitars that are manufactured abroad, which helps to keep the price affordable.
AXL has upgraded their Badwater series with the AXL Badwater Pro with better hardware including a Trem-King bridge, 3 single coil EMG-designed Alnico pickups and Grover tuners. You might remember the Badwater from AXL - it won Guitar World’s December 2007 Gold Award for Overall Value.
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
The folks over at Electric Playground sent us this video interview with Stephen McSwain of McSwain Guitars. Stephen is a custom guitar builder that’s worked with artist like Slash and Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) and makes completely hand built guitars that are totally unique and very cool looking. Check it out…
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
We don’t spend a lot of time on nylon-stringed guitars here at Fretbase (we’re primarily steel-stringers here) but we thought it was worth noting the release by Taylor Guitars of the Taylor JMSM Jason Mraz Signature guitar. The Taylor JMSM Jason Mraz Signature guitar was inspired by Jason Mraz’s Taylor nylon-string NS72ce.
Monday, January 25th, 2010
I’ve been meaning to post about Jim Campilongo’s new album “Orange” for a while. If you’re unfamiliar with Mr. Campilongo and you call yourself a guitar player, now is the time to go out and pick up an album.
“Orange” is a remarkable collection of mostly instrumental tracks that feature the wide range of mind-bending guitar playing. Jim Campilongo mixes it up, changing styles and feel from to track to track giving a great variety for a guitar album.
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Pigtronix has launched three new analog effects at this past NAMM. You may remember Pigtronix from such classics as the Philosopher’s Tone and the EP-1 Envelope Phaser. The three new pedals are EP-2 Envelope Phaser ($299), Aria ($189) and the Philosopher King ($399). Aria and EP2 are in stores now. The Philosopher King will be available soon.
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
You know you’ve always wanted to be famous. It’s probably why you started playing guitar in the first place. Well opportunity just might be knocking on your door. Director and writer James Smith is looking for six guitarists from around the globe to feature in his upcoming documentary titled “Six Strings“. If you think you have a great story, the folks behind “Six Strings” want to hear from you.
Monday, January 18th, 2010
Having trouble keeping on top of all the different stories and gear coming out of this year’s winter NAMM show? Yeah, us too. The sheer amount of announcements, press releases, celebrity sightings and drool-inducing gear has left our heads spinning.
To make this simple we’re going to highlight other people’s highlights of the 2010 winter NAMM show.
Monday, January 18th, 2010
Sometimes something old seems like something new. At the Winter NAMM Show last week, Martin Guitar announced the release of 13 new guitars this winter. This year, we’d say the company had two primary areas of focus. The first is electrics. Even though Martin is known for their acoustic guitars, 8 out of the 13 guitars released were acoustic-electric models with built-in electronics. But we were most happy to see the two new M-models released - the Martin 000-15M and the Martin D-15M.
