Accessories, Amps, Bass, Featured, Software »

Been thinking about getting yourself some shiny (or, in the case of software, virtually shiny), new AmpliTube kit? Now’s the time to do it.
Until the end of October, IK MultiMedia (the modelling boffins that give us AmpliTube) are offering a 3 for 1 deal on selected products.
All you need to do is to buy one AmpliTube product from the list below and register it.

StealthPedal
StealthPedal Deluxe
AmpliTube 2
AmpliTube 2 Crossgrade
AmpliTube Fender™
Ampeg® SVX
AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix™
AmpliTube Metal

Once you do, you can download – completely free – any two of the following:

AmpliTube 2 Crossgrade
Ampeg® SVX
AmpliTube …

Amps, Featured »

Weird, eh?  This is the 3rd Power HD100 amplifier head sitting atop three separate HLH 312 speaker cabinets.
The HD100 is a US-made, 100W, all-valve amplifier head.  It’s built with point-to-point construction and has two, foot-switchable channels.  A ‘voicing’ switch can toggle from ‘smooth’ (classic, vintage tones) to ‘bold’, which we’re told provides a more lyrical quality.
Each of the HLH312 speaker cabinets (and remember, there are three in this image) contains three Celestion Vintage 30 speakers.  3rd Power claim that the design of the cabinets eliminates the beaming and comb-filtering associated …

Accessories, Bass, Featured »

Jim Dunlop – purveyor of many cool things such as the MXR range of pedals, the wonderful Crybaby wah and my regular brand of picks – also make strings.
There are a number of gauges and styles of acoustic, electric and bass strings.  There’s even banjo strings if some pickin’s yer thang.
Acoustic gauges are available in phosphor-bronze and brass.  Electrics run the range from extra light (8 top) to extra heavy (13 top).  Four and five string bass sets are available.
In addition, Dunlop have got their heads together with some pretty …

Acoustic, Factory Tours, Featured »

OK, so this is an interesting one to follow on from yesterday’s Yamaha tour.  Today’s tour is to Taylor Guitars.
Just like you did in school, I want you to compare and contrast Taylor’s approach and what you see in their factory to what you saw in yesterday’s video from the Yamaha factory.  I think it’s interesting to see these two tours and the approaches outlined in each.
Now go and write an essay on what you’ve learned.  Or not, I don’t care.  What am I, your mother?

Acoustic, Factory Tours, Featured »

It’s the weekend and most of you have a little time on your hands.  You might, therefore, like to spend twenty minutes touring the Yamaha guitar factory.
I’ve a bundle of these tours bookmarked and I thought I’d share them with you as, if you’re interested in guitars (and why else would you be here), you’ll likely enjoy watching how the things get made.
This is one of my favourites.  Pay attention now…

Amps, Featured, News »

Ahhh, sweet, low-wattage valve tones.
Paul Reed Smith’s efforts to take over the world continue apace with this, the Sweet 16.
We’re talking a 16 watt head powered by 6V6 valves.  It’s a master volume amp with a full treble/middle/bass stack and a built in reverb.  The amps are handwired (albeit to printed circuit boards) in the US.
All pots, switches, jacks, and power tube sockets are chassis-mounted which bodes well for reliability.
Tube-wise, the 6V6s are cathode biased, in push-pull, to near class A.  The preamp tubes are a little unusual.  There are …

News »

Fender News have a short interview with former Deep Purple and Rainbow rocker – now medieval troubadour – Ritchie Blackmore.  The man in tights answers questions about his current Renaissance renaissance as well as discussing some Purple/Rainbow stuff.
Blackmore also talks briefly about the inspiration for the scalloped fingerboard on his signature Stratocaster:
“I had a classical guitar way back when I was 19 or 20. It had a pitted fingerboard, worn out from excessive use so the wood in between the frets was almost concave. It felt right. Then when I …

Accessories, Bass, Featured »

Not content with more guitars than he can eat and a shed-load of new amps (more later, perhaps), Paul Reed Smith is now offering cables.
The PRS ‘Signature’ Series cables are manufactured to Reed Smith’s specifications by Van Damme (UK-based maker of top cables).
The PRS Cables range includes microphone, speaker and, of course, instrument cables.
Let’s face it, cable specs are not the most interesting things in the world.  Suffice it to say that these cables are very well shielded, ultra-low capacitance, and are fitted with proper, gold-plated NEUTRIK connectors.
They come with …

CDs and DVDs, Featured, News »

Frankly, we don’t have a problem plugging Waits’ new album on Guitarless.  Waits’ albums contain guitar sounds and styles that run the gamut from mellow and understated to freaky, mentalist baboons, ripping apart guitars with their teeth while defecating on them with their giant red arses.  Waits can do very little wrong in the opinion of Guitarless.
If you weren’t lucky enough to catch the man doing his crazy thing on the Glitter And Doom tour (I can crow because I got to see him) last year, you’ll be eager to …

Featured »

Take a look at this.  Anything look familiar?
Yep, this stunningly beautiful archtop bears the marks of Ken Parker.  Ken, founder of Parker Guitars and the man who brought us the Parker Fly builds astonishingly good-looking archtop guitars as Ken Parker Archtops.
There are currently five different models.  All are made with absolute top-grade timbers and are beautifully designed and worked.  Each bears familial resemblance to its siblings but the choice of different tonewoods and subtly different designs gives each plenty of individuality.
This particular model is the Olive Branch.  It has a …