Guitarsite News
Fender The Edge Strat
U2’s iconic guitarist The Edge is the latest artist to co-design a signature guitar with Fender, and the Stratocaster is his instrument of choice. Related Feature:Fender Jimi Hendrix Strat This collaboration is not surprising, and it’s not just because The Edge has been known for using Strats, rather the U2 guitarist is currently holding a position as one of the company’s board of directors. While The Edge is not primarily a Strat guy, he has put the instrument to good use in many of U2’s songs including “Bad” and “Still Haven’t Found” and “Where The Streets Have No Name”, just to name a few. The story goes that he often plugged his Strat on a Vox AC30 with an analog delay to create his distinct sonic textures, which went on to influence so many other guitarists. Fast forward to today, Fender and The Edge have joined forces to craft a Stratocaster that would carry the guitarist’s alias – and so The Edge Strat was conceived and now made available. According to the press release, this new signature guitar is replacing his favorite vintage Fender Strat, and is being used on tour. Ironically, there’s really nothing particularly out of the ordinary
Fender Deluxe Strat
Fender introduces the Deluxe Strat, featuring Vintage Noiseless pickups and custom switching for expanded tone options. Related Feature:Fender Rosewood Neck Telecaster This guitar is part of Fender’s new Deluxe line of instruments, all of which come with upgraded features, offering an innovative contrast to the company’s many “vintage” spec guitars. These guitars are meant for those who want familiar looking instruments that can do more than their conventional counterparts. The new Fender Deluxe Strat is just one of 10 new instruments from the Deluxe line, and it is the most familiar since it takes the shape of the iconic Stratocaster. While it does look like your average Strat, this guitar gives you a wide variety of interesting tones. Fender VP for Electric Guitars and Basses Justin Norvell said, “We are thrilled to debut the new Deluxe Series under our well-respected umbrella of electrics. The Deluxe Series provides musicians a perfect companion on stage and in the studio at an attainable price point; it’s the ideal upgrade for players as they advance on their musical journey without compromising quality for price.” Instead of the usual “relic” style finish, this guitar has a double cutaway ash body wrapped in durable gloss polyurethane
Fishman Fluence Modern 8-String Humbuckers
Fishman adds an 8-string electric guitar compatible humbucker to their innovative multi-voice Fluence pickup line. Related Feature:Eight Cool 8-String Guitars This new humbucker is made available in response to demands by 8-string guitar players, giving them the opportunity to utilize the Fishman Fluence’ multi-voice pickup technology. Fishman is a prominent pickup builder who built their reputation with their great sounding acoustic pickups. Now the company has been expanding into the electric guitar market with their own uniquely designed line of humbucker and single-coil pickups. The technology behind Fluence is complex but the goal is straightforward, the company want to reproduce the tones of sought after vintage pickups while addressing the inherent limitations and problems that they come with. To achieve this, they designed their own pickup from scratch, which according to the company are free from hum, noise and inductance issues. On top of getting the sound properly reproduced and the issues addressed, Fishman also added voice shifting capabilities into the design. According to the company, “Each Fishman Fluence pickup has two distinct and useful sounds on-board. These sounds start with the revolutionary Fluence Core, the heart of Fluence tone. From this Fluence Core we then create the classic timbres
Fishman Fluence Active Humbucker “Unwound” Pickups
Fishman is now shipping the new Fluence active humbucker line, featuring “printed” magnetic coils that mimic great sounding pickups.. Related Feature:Fishman Platinum Pro EQ Preamp The company is offering two distinctly voiced versions, Fluence Classic and Fluence Modern, both having the same unwound active circuitry with the option to use rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries. This release comes after the introduction of the Fluence Single Width pickups, and is simply an expected offshoot of their latest electric guitar pickup technology. Decades after the first magnetic pickup, today’s conventional pickups still follow the same basic design, although it can be argued that what we have is more refined. It is for this reason that Fishman did not extensively join the electric guitar pickup market, stating that they didn’t have anything new to offer… or at least not yet. Earlier this year, they unveiled the Fluence pickup, developed after 18 months of research. The tech behind Fluence’s technology is the company’s way of dealing with the inconsistencies prevalent in traditional pickup manufacturing. The company was able to find a way to mimic how coils behave by having them “printed” on a circuit board. This allows for improved consistency between each production pickup and virtually
Bogner PAF Pickups
Bogner Amplification launches the new Bogner PAF pickup set, built in conjunction with Arcane Pickups. Related Feature:Bogner Helios Amplifier This is an interesting new expansion for the company, who is known primarily as a boutique amp builder. This may very well be just the start of other future guitar gear products from the company. Since Arcane Pickups is just a mere mile away from Bogner’s factory, it is not surprising to find that they have are connected with the amp builder. This connection finally gave way to a Bogner branded pickup line that is designed by the company and built using the facilities and expertise of Arcane pickups. This pickup line is designed by Bogner, and built by Arcane in their nearby factory in Lost Angeles. These PAFs are built using vintage machinery and vintage-spec materials to better replicate the classic appearance and tone of old PAF humbuckers. The company says, “These pickups deliver clear, balanced and sweet cleans. It’ll be instantly evident you’ll hear and feel dynamic, articulate and harmonically rich overdriven tones that don’t get in the way of your guitars tonality and playing style.” The neck pickup is built using Alnico III and has an output at
T4 Pickup Switch Upgrade for Les Paul Style Guitars
Awesome Musical Instruments released a new upgrade system for Les Paul style guitars, featuring a switching circuit that allows for 68 tones. Related Feature:MIDI Guitar Pickup Guide This new upgrade features the same T4 Pickup Switch Technology, only this time it is designed to fit the smaller available space on LP style guitars. As an example, Awesome Musical Instruments upgraded an Epiphone Les Paul Standard guitar, one of the more affordable and popular LP guitars in the market. They first replaced the stock two 2-wire humbucker pickups with two 4-wire humbucker pickups and then proceeded to install their switching circuitry. A major hurdle for modifying Les Paul electronics is the lack of body cavity for electronics. Modifying the body by carving out cavities will be a turn-off for many players so they thought of a simple way to fit the circuit into the guitar discretely – by permanently removing the lower volume and tone knobs. The freed up space is then used to house the T4 Pickup Switch Upgrade. The manufacturer had this to say about the workaround “One Volume and Tone control is a simpler way manage all the pickup coils. The 3-way switch no longer functions, but it
Maxon OD808X Overdrive Extreme
Godlyke introduces the Maxon OD808X Overdrive Exxtreme Pedal featuring more gain and extended high frequencies. Related Feature:Best Fuzz Pedals! This pedal is based on the Maxon OD808, and is described as an improved modern version of the of their “808” circuit. The name of this pedal is an easy hint that this is a modified Tube Screamer, and adds to the sea of “808” boutique stompboxes that are available in the market today. So the question is what, does this one have to offer? According to Maxon, this pedal features several changed component values that were altered to improve the overdrive tone. The official description says, “The OD808X offers a wider frequency response than a stock OD808, with an extended hi-frequency tonal range that offers additional clarity without becoming harsh.“ They also add that the new OD808X has a harder clipping pattern than the standard model, and they claim that this design creates “a searing, full-bodied drive tone that helps chords ring and notes sing.“ The company also added an additional +5 dB of output level so you can get more juice from the pedal. This additional output booster is expected to help your guitar tone cut through multiple instruments
Seymour Duncan Forza Overdrive
Seymour Duncan introduces the new Forza Overdrive effects pedal, launched exclusively at Chicago Music Exchange. Related Feature:Seymour Duncan Palladium Gain Stage Pedal This new overdrive pedal was developed by the two companies, and as such it will only be available from the said retailer during launch period, which will start this coming May, and end on August. The Forza features a glass diode with back-to-back stack overdrive circuit. The resulting sound is described by the company as full-range and transparent, allowing more of the natural voice of your guitar to pass through. It has This is in contrast to how many overdrive pedals emphasize certain frequencies, specifically the mids. Forza is designed to give you a flatter even spread across the frequency range. This flat response design makes the voicing open and viable for many types of rigs, be it through a clean channel or for driving an already-overdriven amp. The pedal will also work with any type of guitar configuration, including single coils, hubuckers, and even active pickups. Seymour Duncan SVP of Products and CRO Max Gutnik said, “We are very excited to work with Chicago Music Exchange to bring this to market as an exclusive launch. They have
Earthquake Devices Gray Channel Overdrive Pedal
Earthquake Devices unveil the Gray Channel, a versatile overdrive pedal with two channels and multiple clipping modes. Related Feature:Best Guitar Pedals By Category It is the company’s take on the classic DOD Overdrive 250 pedal, updated for today’s players with improved versatility and bass response. It is also designed to work well in a typical pedlaboard rig format instead of the original’s straight to amp design. The story goes that the DOD Overdrive 250 is the same pedal that inspired the formation and launch of Earthquake Devices. But instead of just sticking strictly to the original pedal that inspired it, they decided to improve on the design to make it viable for today’s guitarists who need as many sonic options as possible. So they designed the Gray Channel pedal to conjure various forms of overdrive flavors, which they achieved equipping the pedal with the ability to switch between different types of clipping modes that are segregated into two channels. The pedal offers two channels called “Red” and “Green” which you can switch into via a dedicated footswitch. And as mentioned both the Red and Green channels give you three clipping mode options to choose from, which changes the overall flavor
Ernie Ball Expression Overdrive
Ernie Ball introduces the Expression Overdrive, a dirt pedal that gives you real-time control over the overdrive effect. Related Feature:Best Overdrive Pedals This new pedal adds to the company’s growing line of expression pedal effects, which allow for more dynamic and real time variations to your sound as you perform. Instead of having to rely on a knob for tweaking, you use the pedal’s rocker to adjust the overdrive effect. The overdrive is an interesting choice for expression pedal use, especially since most of the time, guitarists simply set their preferred gain and leave it be. If parts of the song require more gain, a second overdrive or boost pedal is normally put to use, and the gain simply jumps to a set parameter rather slowly going up. With this Expression Overdrive pedal, you no longer have to be limited to set gains when switching between lead and rhythm work. And you can raise or lower your gain incrementally as the song calls for it, allowing for smoother and more pleasing transitions. This added dynamic, real time control over the drive setting opens up your tonal palette to give you more control over your sound, either for building up or
Walrus Audio 385 Overdrive
Walrus Audio introduces the 385 Overdrive Pedal, inspired by the tube amplifier used on ’50s film projectors. Related Feature:Best Overdrive Pedals This pedal was inspired by guitarists who have been using modified guitar amps, that were taken directly from the tube-driven audio sections of old film projectors. When cranked, these modded amps produce compressed overdrive sound that many appreciate, and this is the same sound that the Walrus 385 Overdrive aims to replicate. To start with, Walrus Audio designed this pedal to be responsive, much like actual tube amps. But it doesn’t end with just being another tube-amp-in-a-box, the company decided to capture the sound and feel of a specific amplifier, and it is the one found inside vintage Bell and Howell 385 Filmosound projectors. Walrus Audio expounds, “For decades now, guitarists in search of pure tone have been taking the tube-powered audio sections of vintage film projectors and using it as a guitar amp. After endless hours of research on vintage Bell and Howell 385 Filmosound projector, Walrus has created a new overdrive modeled after the projector’s tone. The Bell and Howell 385 gracefully lends itself to create an amazing guitar amp. Its simple, but effective controls, plus dual
Friedman BE-OD Overdrive Pedal
Friedman Amplification introduces the BE-OD Overdrive pedal, an amp-in-a-box based on their BE-100 amplifier. Related Feature:Best Overdrive Pedals This new release is marks the company’s foray into the stompbox market, and with their report of the good initial response to their new pedals, we can expect to see more pedals from them in the future. If Friedman amplification doesn’t sound too familiar, know that the man behind this company was responsible for the signature tones of guitar icons like Jerry Cantrell, Steve Stevens, Eddie Van Halen and more. Dave Friedman has 25 years worth of guitar amplifier building, modding and repairing, and he did so only for privileged professionals who then spread the word amongst their peers. By establishing Friedman Amplification, the same tone quality that rock stars enjoyed from Dave’s modded amps were made available to more players. Each Friedman amplifier is built in the USA with Dave himself inspecting each component and build to ensure it meets his standards. Now the company has expanded even further with the new BE-OD pedal, crossing over into the stompbox realm while still retaining the sound that helped launch the brand. Being based on the Friedman BE-100 tube amplifier (BE stands for
Reverend Tricky Gomez LE
Reverend announces the availability of the Tricky Gomez LE, the limited edition version of their retro-looking semi-hollow guitar with Bigsby tremolo. Related Feature:New Life for Charred Reverend Guitar It features the same double cutaway shape of their Manta Ray series but with a more “twang” friendly pickup configuration and more color choices. Like all Reverend Guitars, the Tricky Gomez LE features Korina wood as used on the sides, back and on the center block. Completing the look and tone of the guitar is a solid maple top that comes in five flavors of metal flake finish: Green, Red, Blue, Silver and Gold. The three piece Korina neck has a medium oval profile, with the nutwidth measuring 1.656″ and a radius of 12″. It is topped by a rosewood fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets running along its 24.75″ scale length. The headstock features Reverend’s popular Strat-like 6 tuners on the top side shape, and it houses the dual action truss rod access. A major difference between the Tricky Gomez and the Manta Ray is the use of Revtron humbucking pickups. This allows for a more “twang” friendly retro-tone that matches the pawnshop prize looks of the instrument. Essential controls are provided,
Reverend Charger 290 LE
Reverend Guitars unveil the Charger 290 LE, an upgraded limited run version of the Charger 290 guitar. Related Feature:Reverend Guitar 2014 Models The Charger 290 model joins the company’s limited edition models for fall 2014, continuing Reverend’s tradition of unveiling beefed-up versions of their popular models every fall. . The most obvious upgrade that the limited edition model brings is the addition of a Bigsby B-50 tremolo, that features the company’s own soft-touch spring. Aside from adding more expressive control over your notes, it also compliments the overall vintage appeal of the instrument. To separate it from the regular production model, the new Reverend Charger 290 LE will come in three special colors that include Lakeshore Gold, Metallic Red and Metallic Alpine Green, all of which come with cream pickguards and cream pickup covers to further enhance the instrument’s vintage appeal. Another special feature in this limited run release is the addition of an exclusive Souldier Strap that matches each of the three finishes. Like the regular version, this guitar comes with a body carved from Korina wood, the medium light-weight wood that Reverend is so fund of using on their instruments. The body is paired with the same maple
Reverend Charger 290 LE 2015
Reverend Guitars bring back the Charger 290 Limited Edition model with a 2015 re-release, now with additional three new color options. Related Feature:Reverend Charger 290 LE 2014 This is the same Charger 290 LE that came out during the fall season of last year, now back in production with some new finishes because of its popularity and high customer demand. The Charger is one of Reverend Guitar’s most popular and identifiable instrument, so it is only natural for it to be a sought after by many guitarists. Visually, it looks like a Les Paul merged with a Telecaster and Jazz master, resulting in a distinct retro looking instrument that does not look too odd. With the Charger 209 LE, this design is updated with special hardware additions and modifications that add to the instrument’s sonic versatility and cosmetic appeal. According to the press release, “Last Fall, Reverend Guitars took the Charger 290 and turned up the volume a bit to make a limited-edition model. Because of the initial release’s popularity, Reverend is bringing it back in three more colors and offering it throughout 2015.” The three new color options include Metallic Black, Metallic Copper Fire, and Metallic Rose. They all
Reverend Rick Vito Signature – Updated
Reverend Guitars updates the Rick Vito Signature, now available in Metallic Red and Lakeshore Gold finish. This update is part of the three recently updated signature models from Reverend Guitars. The new finishes were suggested by another guitar player, King Paris, who loved the guitar but wanted to make some visual changes to match his style. Reverend happened to appreciate the idea and ended up making the new finishes available for everyone. Both the metallic lakeside gold and metallic red finishes come with the same specs as the original Rick Vito model, and are optionally available to come with a Bigsby bridge. The new colors highlight the guitar’s stream-lined look, and will give prospective buyers more palettes to choose from. The Rick Vito Signature starts off with a korina body, carved into a “stream-lined” single cutaway shape, reminiscent of classic hot rod car designs. The neck is also made from Korina, topped by an ebony fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets. The scale length of the instrument is 24-3/4″, while the fretboard radius is 12″. Vito and Reverend teamed up to custom design the pickups used on this guitar, based on a 1960’s Supro pickup. The Dual-Pro bridge pickup is
Reverend Sensei HB LE 2016
Reverend introduces their latest Limited Edition guitar, the new Sensei HB LE with Bigsby B-50 bridge. Related Feature:Reverend Billy Corgan Signature BC-1 This guitar follows the original specs of the double cutaway Sensei HB, but with improved aesthetics and upgraded hardware to give it a premium look and improved playability. Every year, Reverend Guitars have been releasing a Limited Edition model in time for fall season, and for 2016, they give the Sensei HB the premium treatment. Reverend CEO Ken Hass describes the guitar as “the sexiest Sensei ever Built”, retaining the distinct double cutaway look while incorporating additions that include a colored flame top, and a Bigsby bridge. As expected from a Reverend made guitar, the Sensei HB LE starts off with a Korina wood body, cut into the company’s take on the familiar double cutaway shape. While it is inspired by classic designs, it is not your average clone because it has subtle shape modifications that make the guitar distinct, without going overboard. To give this version special aesthetics, Reverend added a top that’s carved from colored flame maple. The 3-piece Korina neck follows after the profile of the regular version, with a graphite nut that is 1
Reverend Billy Corgan Signature BC-1
Reverend Guitars and Smashing Pumpkins’ frontman unveil the new chambered body Billy Corgan Signature BC-1 guitar. Related Feature:Reverend Charger 290-LE 2015 This is an interesting team up, since both Reverend and Billy are not known for merely going with convention. The resulting guitar’s unique yet somewhat familiar appeal is quite fitting for Corgan’s distinct musical style. Back in 2008, we reported on the release of the Billy Corgan Stratocaster, fast forward to today, we now bring you news of another signature guitar, but this time from a different company. While Corgan had a lot of design inputs on this guitar, much about the BC-1 follows after Reverend’s tried and tested design. It comes with a solid korina body that has a raised center section with thinner wings that complete its body shape. What makes this guitar unique are the strategically placed chambers on the wings and under the pickguard, which reduce weight and resulting in semi-hollow like resonance. The company explains, “Korina (aka White Limba) is a medium lightweight wood, highly prized for consistency and tonal qualities. It is a key factor to producing our lively, responsive instruments that are rich in harmonics. On the BC-1 there are strategic chambers
Tim Reede Librada – Acoustic Electric Hybrid
Tim Reede Custom Guitars introduces the Librada, an acoustic-electric that has both a piezo and a magnetic neck pickup. Pegasus Guitar:Acoustic-Electric Redesigned It starts off with traditional acoustic guitar materials and design, and mixes in electric guitar design elements, resulting in a guitar that can sound acoustic or electric when plugged in. While conventional acoustic-electric guitars are simply acoustics that come with a piezo pickup and preamp for plugging in, the Librada takes the acoustic-electric label to literally mean what it says. It sacrifices some acoustic guitar elements, to give way for electric guitar features including a magnetic pickup, improved feedback resistance and better playability. A quick glance at the instrument shows that it looks much like your average acoustic, but with some glaring differences. The most obvious difference is the soundhole, which is moved to the side to give way for a magnetic pickup on the neck position and to reduce feedback. The top is made of Adirondack spruce while the back and sides are made from Bubinga. This combination of wood works in conjunction with the K&K soundboard transducer to reproduce amplified acoustic tones. This system features three separate piezo pads that attach to the top and goes
Gretsch Billy Duffy Falcon Guitar
Gretsch introduces the G7593T Billy Duffy Falcon Signature Guitar, a ’70s era silver themed variation of the White Falcon. The guitar is based on Billy Duffy’s old White Falcon, with some changes in aesthetics and pickups. Duffy is known for taking out his White Falcon as the guitarist for British rock icon The Cult. Seeing a big white Gretsch in rock concerts is quite unusual, and is a fresh contrast to the usual edgy guitar shapes that dominates the rock scene. His playing helped turn the Gretsch brand into viable rock guitars, and for his loyalty and talent, Gretsch works with him to create his very own signature guitar. The G7593T looks very much like the other Falcons but with some distinctive features to separate it from the “Falcon” flock. Most notable is its smaller V-shaped Falcon headstock, and period-correct ’70s Baldwin era body shape. The guitar’s main wood is maple, featuring an arched maple top, maple sides and arched maple back. The body is measured to have a thickness of 2.75″. The guitar features a 22 medium jumbo fret 3-piece neck that is made of maple and walnut. It has a scale length of