Guitarsite News
Bedell Bahia Dreadnought
Bedell Guitars introduce the new Bahia Dreadnought, featuring naturally cured half-century old Brazilian rosewood. Related Feature:Bedell Wildfire Orchestra Acquiring Brazilian Rosewood is not an easy feat, but Bedell was able to get their hands on some of them from Spanish tonewood supplier Madinter, and are using them for this premium acoustic guitar. The company provided an interesting back story for the rare rosewood that their using, stating that they all came from 50+ year old Brazilian rosewood logs that were shipped from NE Brazil to a small company that crafted church ornaments just outside of Madrid Spain. These precious wood were stored safely in a warehouse, and soon found themselves cut for guitar manufacture use. These wood naturally aged year after year, and cured by the ideal climate of Spain. The company then became known as Madinter, and supplied tonewoods to many exclusive guitar builders. Bedell adds, “The sapcrystalized, the stress in the wood relaxed, the cellulose matured between the annual growth fiber, nature took its natural course of turning tone wood into incredible music wood. Just as pre-war guitars are known for their extraordinary sound as the tonewoods age, the Brazilian rosewood of Madinter cured naturally.“ Now these same
Cort 20th Anniversary Earth Acoustic Guitars
Cort celebrates the 20th anniversary of their Earth series guitars by releasing two limited edition acoustics. Related Feature:Cort Sunset Semi-Hollow The first model is a top of the line acoustic with high end specs, the Earth-LE2 MD. The second limited run model is more affordable, called the Earth 20th. These new acoustics follow the general theme of Cort’s Earth series, which is to replicate the look and feel of vintage dreadnought shaped acoustics. To distinguish them from the pack, the 20th Anniversary Earth models have special features, including a 20th Anniversary logo inside the soundhole, and they are only available in limited numbers. Cort Earth-LE2 MD Cort is mostly known for their affordable guitars, but they strayed from their path with this particular model. Bearing a tag price of $2,225, the new Earth-LE2 MD is now among their most expensive instruments and carries with it high-end materials, top-of-the-line aesthetics and quality construction. The guitar’s dreadnought body starts with solid Madagascar Rosewood back and sides. The top is carved from master grade solid Sitka Spruce, which completes the Earth-LE2 MD’s special wood combination, normally only found among more expensive models. The 3-piece neck is made of mahogany and rosewood, topped by
Schecter C-1E/A Guitar now equipped with Graph Tech’s ghost ResoMax bridge
Graph Tech Guitar Labs is now supplying Schecter guitars with the innovative ghost ResoMax bridge for the C-1E/A guitar. The ghost ResoMax bridge is a Tune-O-Matic bridge that delivers rich, authentic acoustic tone from your electric guitar with rapid, accurate tracking and perfect string to string balance. Graph Tech's String Saver technology dramatically reduces string breakage and increases harmonic content. The bridge base is made from a high strength, light weight alloy designed to maximize harmonic content. More harmonics means more richness and sizzle in every note you play. By strategically encapsulating custom-engineered ghost pick-ups in a set of Graph Tech's patented String Saver saddles the pick-ups use a natural compression; you can play as hard as you want without overloading the input channel or experiencing the dreaded piezo “quack”. You also get the added benefit of longer string life, and the full bodied tone of the Graph Tech String Saver saddles. The Acousti-Phonic Modular Pre-amp captures the natural acoustics of your electric guitar, which can then be amplified or recorded direct, without feedback or mic placement problems associated with a live or studio amplified acoustic guitar. The tone is warm, full-bodied and features automatic switching for mono or stereo applications.
Framus releases Graphtech Black TUSQ Nuts Standard on all Framus Electric Guitars from June 2010
Starting at the 2010 Summer NAMM in Nashville, Tennessee, all Framus guitars (with the exception of Floyd Rose bridge models) will be outfitted with Graphtech's Black TUSQ Nuts. Graphtech has been a leading innovator in this area for some years now, and TUSQ Nuts are the most-requested guitar nuts among manufacturers, as well as in music stores and guitar repair shops as replacements. Graphtech Black TUSQ Saddles are made of a self-lubricating, Teflon-impregnated special material that is called “synthetic black ivory.” It's hard as bone, has ideal characteristics to be used as nut material, and can be worked on with ease. GraphTech Black TUSQ Saddles reduce friction and thus improve tuning stability and durability. GraphTech Black TUSQ Saddles also transfer the string vibration freely to the neck. The end result is an extremely rich and brilliant tone as well as an increase in sustain. For more information, please visit www.framus.de This is a Press Release Related Articles: Graph Tech Inviso-Match Mounting Plate System Framus Pro Series Mayfield Legacy Framus Legacy Acoustic Guitar Series
New ResoMax Harmonic Bridge System from Graph Tech Guitar Labs
Electric guitarists can now easily upgrade any guitar with a Tune-O-Matic bridge for better performance and sound thanks to the new ResoMax Harmonic Bridge System made by Graph Tech Guitar Labs, the world’s largest guitar nut and saddle manufacturer. Each bridge contains Graph Tech’s proven performance String Saver Saddles in a Tune-O-Matic bridge. The base of the ResoMax Bridge is made from a high strength, light weight alloy designed to maximize harmonic content. More harmonics means more richness and sizzle in every note you pick or strum. The patented String Saver material will greatly reduce or eliminate string breakage and improve tuning performance for your electric guitar. The ResoMax Harmonic Bridge System is an unbeatable combination of materials that will improve your guitar’s tone, performance and, ultimately, your guitar playing experience. Every String Saver Saddle is impregnated with Teflon. A string resting on a metal saddle binds and locks the string in place. As the string vibrates it stresses the string on a very specific point and produces metal fatigue and then string breakage. The Teflon in String Saver eases the grip between the saddle and string, spreading the stress over a greater portion of the string, just enough to
New Supercharger Kits from Graph Tech Guitar Labs now available
Acoustic and electric guitarists can now get high-end performance and sound from any guitar thanks to new Supercharger Kits made by Graph Tech Guitar Labs, the world’s largest guitar nut and saddle manufacturer. Each easy-to-use upgrade kit contains the right mix of Graph Tech’s proven performance products like TUSQ saddles for acoustic guitars and String Saver saddles for electric guitars. Available now, Graph Tech’s new Supercharger Kits include Graph Tech’s best selling products in one package to simplify the purchase process for the end-user. With a small number of kits to fit almost all models, end-users have a much easier task finding the right combination of products for their guitar. Three acoustic kits are available and include TUSQ high-performance saddle and bridge pins. Electric kits are available for Tele and Strat (American, Import, or Offset) and for guitars equipped with 4mm or 6mm post Tune-O-Matic bridges. They include Black TUSQ® XL nuts and String Saver Original saddles. Four ResoMax Bridge color choices – chrome, nickel, gold, and black nickel are also available for guitars equipped with 4mm or 6mm post Tune-O-Matic bridges. The Graph Tech Supercharger Kits MSRP ranges from $39.95 and $99.95 and are available online as well as
Graph Tech Inviso-Match Mounting Plate System
Graph Tech’s Inviso-Match Mounting Plate System has just been awarded a U.S. patent, in recognition of its innovative design which simplifies machine head replacements for common guitar configurations. Related Feature:Graph Tech Ratio Machine Heads These are designed to make it easier to install Graph Tech’s popular Ratio Balance Geared Machine Heads into popular guitar styles that include Strats, Les Pauls, and more. Much like their other innovative guitar products, the Ratio Machine Heads have caused quite the buzz in the guitar industry. So much so that manufacturers like Martin, Rainsong, Godin, Framus, Hagstrom and more have not only shown interest but have implemented these tuners on some of their guitars. As expected, guitarists who use other guitar brands, or want to upgrade their tuners also wanted to utilize this innovative technology, and because of this need, the Inviso-March Mounting Plate system was realized. The idea to create this mounting system came when company founder Dave Dunwoodie encountered a simple yet annoying problem while working on machine head replacements – the need to drill new holes for screws and the need to fill in the old holes. Dave said, “I could immediately relate… I really wanted to change my machine heads
Graph Tech Ratio Machine Heads
Graph Tech unveils the Ratio, a set of machine heads that are tuned to provide equal winding adjustments on all strings. Each tuning head is designed to match the particular “core diameter” of the string it is used on, resulting in a balanced and more consistent way of tuning. The idea behind Ratio started 25 years ago, when Graph Tech’s founder Dave Dunwoodie encountered a problem while trying to create a tremolo hat can retune the guitar to several open tunings. The problem was that each string on a guitar is tuned differently because of their varying thickness. He realized that it was hard to design the tremolo because the high E and B strings require more turns while the thicker low E and A needs lesser turns to adjust. After scratching the original tremolo idea, Dave then thought of designing balanced machine heads. Dave was quoted saying, “It crossed my mind back then, and I thought, balancing machine head gears to each string would be an awesome way to tune a guitar”. At that time, Graph Tech was still a fledgling company with little financial resources for R & D, so the project went on the back burner until
Seymour Duncan Vapor Trail Delay Pedal
Seymour Duncan introduces another stompbox for guitar, the new Bucket Brigade based Vapor Trail delay pedal. Related Feature:Seymour Duncan Dirty Deed Distortion This new analog delay pedal comes with deep controls and expanded wet/dry effect stacking and chaining capabilities. Seymour Duncan describes the new Vapor Trail as a true analog delay pedal that produces classic vintage analog delay sound, they add that the sound is “warm, full, lush and packed with vibe and musicality”. Like the previously released Seymour Duncan Dirty Deed Distortion, this new pedal does not end with just analog sounds – it packs expanded control and other extra features that make it easier to integrate into your setup. Three big knobs on the face of the pedal let you control essential parameters including Mix, Repeats and Delay. The translucent Delay knob comes with a blue LED that flashes in sync with your delay speed. This will let you visually monitor your delay time to match the beat of your music conveniently. Aside from the big three, two smaller knobs let you adjust the rate and depth of the effect. You can utilize these controls to shape the delay sound and to add modulation. According to the manufacturer,
70th Anniversary John Lennon J-160E
Seventy years after his birth and three decades after his untimely passing, John Lennon's message of peace continues to touch the masses, and his songs still resonate in the hearts and minds of fans around the world. At the request of Yoko Ono, Gibson Guitar is offering three 70th Anniversary John Lennon J-160E acoustic guitars to celebrate the legacy of this extraordinary artist. Accordingly, only a very limited number of these handmade acoustics will ever be available. In 1962, John Lennon was still an up-and-coming artist, and though one of two main singer/songwriters at the heart of The Beatles, was scraping by on the little money the band was bringing in at that time. For his first quality American acoustic/electric guitar, Lennon had his sights set on a new Gibson J-160E – the problem was, he didn't have the money to buy it. With the aid of a co-signed purchase from Beatles manager Brian Epstein (who also co-signed for bandmate George Harrison's J-160E), Lennon made the guitar his own, and put it straight to the business of making rock and roll history. Recreated by the luthiers at Gibson's Montana acoustic guitar facility in period-perfect detail, the 70th Anniversary John Lennon
Gibson Ron Wood L-5S
Gibson and the Rolling Stones guitarist team up to create the Ron Wood L-5S, based on the original release from the ’70s. Related Feature:Gibson Les Paul Supreme 2015 This guitar is built to match the preferred specs of the artist, inspired by one of his favorite instruments, which incidentally was originally released around the same time he joined the Rolling Stones. The original L-5S is simply a solid body version of the hollowbody Gibson L-5, carrying with it the same features and cosmetics. Unfortunately, it did not become as popular as the hollowbody version, even with the L-5S being part of the company’s top-tier line up. Still there are some guitarists that took a liking to it, and this includes the Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood. The official description adds, “Although we think of all the great Gibson electrics as being made in the ‘golden age’ of the ’50s and early ’60s, a few genuine classics slipped in during the years between the end of that era and the rebirth of Gibson standards a little over two decades ago. The L-5S is one such guitar: Gibson’s top-tier solidbody at the time of its introduction in 1973, it has long been
Gibson Alex Lifeson Double Neck
Gibson unveils the Alex Lifeson Double Neck, a replica of Rush guitarist’s own EDS-1275 Double Neck from the ’70s. Related Feature:Gibson Diamond SG This limited run guitar is based on Alex’s popular Farewell to Kings Double Neck, utilizing both hands-on analysis and digital scans of the original instrument’s neck profile and body sculpt. The new Alex Lifeson Double Neck is part of the company’s selection of realistic replica’s, which faithfully reproduce minute details of the original instruments they are based from. Everything from the type of wood, finish and hardware are replicated, along with distinct markings, dings and scratches, resulting in a clone that will be hard to distinguish from the original. It would have been nice if they released a non-relic version of this guitar, but I guess the fact that this is a replica of Alex Lifeson’s actual instrument will make this a truly coveted instrument for both players, fans and collectors. Alex Lifeson said, “I acquired this (white) one in 1976, along with a cherry one, which I later gave to Eric Johnson. It’s been with me ever since, playing a constant role in the Farewell to Kings tour between 1977 and 1983, then again from 1991-1996,
Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Machine
Transform your guitar sound into an electric organ with the new Electro-Harmonix B9 Organ Machine pedal. Related Feature:EHX Deluxe Big Muff Pi This pedal features nine presets that shape the sound of your guitar into various tonewheel and combo organs from ’60s to the present. A teaser of this pedal created quite the buzz some weeks back, and it may just be worth the buzz because of its authenticity, multiple organ sounds and extra effects. In line with the pedal’s release, EHX produced an in-depth demo video that showcases the various organ sounds that it can produce. Normally, I don’t keep my hopes up when a pedal claims to make a guitar sound like something else, but after watching the demo video it became obvious that the B9 Organ Machine was an exception. For something that features complex sound shaping technology, the B9’s layout is surprisingly simple and straightforward. The most notable control is the 9-position knob, which gives you access to the different organ sounds of the pedal. Here is the complete list of sounds that you can get: Fat & Full Jazz Gospel Classic Rock Bottom End Octaves Cathedral Continental Bell Organ Particularly interesting are the Gospel, Cathedral
EHX KEY9 Electric Piano Machine Guitar Pedal
Electro-Harmonix introduces the KEY9 Electric Piano Machine, a pedal that emulates multiple electric piano sounds. Related Feature:EHX B9 Organ Machine This pedal expands on the cool synth style effects that they previously released, only this one transforms your guitar tone into convincing electric piano sounds based on sought after electric pianos that were popular back in the ’70s and ’80s. At first glance, the idea may seem silly, especially since you can always get a keyboard player instead of you playing their parts. But because their previous emulation of organ machines sounded really natural and inspiring, I can’t help but be interested with this new pedal which emulates electric pianos. Plugging your guitar into the EHX KEY9 morphs your guitar sound into convincing electric piano emulations of popular keyboards. Instead of merely going for one electric piano tone, this pedal emulates various electric pianos which you can choose via a rotary switch. It carries several variations of the classic Rhode and Wurlitzer sounds along with recreations of vibes, mallets, an organ, and even steel drums! Following the design of the popular EHX B9 and C9 pedals, the new KEY9 comes equipped with DRY (uneffected signal) and KEY (wet/effected signal) knobs,
EHX Soul Pog
Electro-Harmonix unveils the Soul Pog, a hybrid of their two popular pedals, the Sould Food Overdrive and the Nano Pog Polyphonic Octave Generator. Related Feature:The Best Guitar Pedals This dual effect pedal retains all the controls of the two conjoined pedals, and each effect can be used independently or linked together, much like their standalone versions. Electro-Harmonix have been producing pedal combinations like this and with this new release, it seems that these combo pedals are successful. I for one don’t find the need for combining two effects into one unit, thankfully EHX added some extra features to make this combination distinct and more interesting. The first section of the Soul Pog is taken directly from their popular overdrive pedal, the Soul Food. This OD pedal boasts of enhanced touch response and headroom, and it continues to grow in popularity. It is basically an analog pedal recreation of the overdrive section of a tube amp, mimicking its definition, saturation and clarity. The same three knobs are provided, giving you control over the volume, gain and tone. Just like the standalone pedal, these three knobs are designed to allow for a wide variety of overdrive flavors. On the left side of
Vox AC4C1-12 Mini Tube Combo Amp
Vox introduces the AC4C1-12, a 4 Watt all-tube combo amplifier based on the popular Vox AC30. Related Feature:Vox SoundBox Mini Compared to the previous AC4 models that come with 10-inch speakers, this new AC4 model sports a bigger 12-inch Celestion speaker. This bigger speaker should ideally allow for a fuller sound with enhanced bass response. The compact AC4 series is among the company’s more popular models, so this maybe their attempt to provide more options within the series. This is also a more affordable alternative to the premium hand-wired AC4 model. Like the previous AC4 models, the AC4C1-12 is designed to deliver the chimey cleans and “Top Boost” tone of the iconic Vox AC30 in a smaller package. It achieves this at lower volumes by utilizing two 12AX7 preamp tubes, 1 EL84 power tube that go through Vox’s Class A Tube amp circuit. Only essential controls are available for this amp, which includes four knobs that give you control over the top and low end, the overall volume and the amp’s gain levels. Feature Highlights: All-tube mini combo amp Legendary Top Boost tone inherited from the VOX AC30 Gain, Bass, Treble, and Master Volume controls 4 Watt Class A amplifier
Vox Night Train NT15C1-CL
Vox gives the Night Train a classic twist with the new NT15C1-CL, featuring traditional exterior styling. Related Feature:Vox AC4C1-12 The Night Train series is known for sporting a modern metallic exterior, the new NT15C1-CL sheds this modern design and instead sports classic Vox styling that their long-time fans will appreciate. The new Night Train NT15C1-CL goes back to the familiar Vox design, featuring the company’s distinctive diamond grille cloth and gold label badge. The sound on the other hand stays true to the series, with tones that range from clean to crunch, and from crunch to modern high gain high-gain. The changes however is just skin deep, because on the inside it still features the same all-tube preamp and poweramp section. The preamp has three 12AX7 tubes while the poweramp features two EL84 tubes that produce sounds that cover the typical Vox sounds and can move up to modern high-gain ground. The amplifier drives up to 15 Watts RMS into a 12″ Celestion G12M Greenback speaker which is housed inside its compact and retro-looking combo cabinet. According to the official description, “Distinctive within the VOX amp lineup, the Night Train series provides an easy way to enjoy VOX’s traditional full-tube
Vox Mini5 Rhythm IV
Vox Amps expand their miniature amp line with the new Mini5 Rhythm IV, with new ivory finish and metallic front grille. Related Feature:Vox SoundBox Mini Like the other Mini5 Rhythm amps, it utilizes the same amp and effects modeling technology from the company’s popular Valvetronix line. This lightweight and compact amp is designed to provide guitarists with a wide range of tones for practice, and since it can run on battery power, you can plug your guitar into this portable amp virtually anywhere. The Mini5 Rhythm IV has 11 amp sounds that carry the same sound as the bigger Valvetronix series, but tweaked to work with lower volumes. It also has eight built-in effects and multiple rhythm functions. There are quite a lot rhythm patterns available for practice, it’ll take some time to browse through all 99 patterns. For something so small, it packs a hefty amount of additional functionality that include mic input, AUX input, and a nifty dedicated E-string tuner. Thanks to improvements in digital audio processing, even small practice amps can now have inspiring tones. Vox utilized their years of experience and technology to develop 11 amp models that support a wide range of music and playing
Vox Analog Valve Series
Vox unveil the new Analog Valve line of amplifiers, a multi-voiced tube amp with eight different analog preamp circuits. Related Feature:Cheap Tube Amps The aim of this new amp line is to provide sonic versatility without compromising genuine analog circuitry, Vox basically stuffed the amp with multiple analog circuits that you can switch into to get different tones. Drawing from their decades of amp building experience, Vox designed the Analog Valve Series to provide the sound of eight popular amps packed inside a single tube-driven amplifier. They achieved this by installing eight analog preamp circuits that give the amp it’s multiple tones, which cover everything from clean to Brit crunch, and all the way to high gain. The switchable preamps are all driven by 12AX7 tube(s) which give each of the tones tube warmth and quality. In addition to the various voicings, the Valve Stage section lets you modify the tone at the preamp itself, with adjustments for brightness and bass response. You can also adjust the bias and response of the power amp section for even more tone shaping. Vox Brand Manager Brian Picollo said, “With eight different analog preamp circuits, the AV series is able to accurately reproduce
Radial SB-15 Tailbone Signal Buffer
Radial Engineering announces the shipping availability of the compact signal buffer box, SB-15 Tailbone. Related Feature:Radial JX62 Guitar and Amp Switcher It is meant to sit at the beginning of the signal chain to reduce unwanted noise that usually comes with multiple guitar pedal setups. The SB-15 Tailbone starts with a standard hi-Z instrument input which is then ‘tamed’ using Radial’s unique Dragster load correction circuit. According to the official press release, ” it replicates the tone and feel as if connected directly to the amplifier”. The incoming signal is then buffered via a 100% discrete, class-A unity gain amplifier. Instead of using Integrated Circuits or ICs to buffer the signal, the unit’s discrete design reduces the need for phase-cancelling negative feedback, resulting in what the brand claims as a more “natural pleasing and pleasing tone”. SB-15 Tailbone uses the same class-A buffer as the one found on the Radial JD7, used by big name guitarists that include Steve Vai, John Petrucci and Steve Lukather, just to name a few. Because the signal is buffered, it lowers the circuit impedance and reduces susceptibility to hum and buzz caused by radio interference and electromagnetic fields. The SB-15 Tailbone is said to