Van Halen is Back: Guaranteed to Satisfy

All is forgiven. The cheesy keyboards on “Jump”. The parachute pants and bandanas. The entire Sammy Hagar experience. Gary Fucking Cherone.

All is forgotten. Steve Vai’s heart-shaped triple-neck guitar. The porno-flick soundtrack. Valerie Bertinelli. Chickenfoot. None of it matters now.

Van Halen is back, which you’ve heard before. Hold on, though – they’re back with singer David Lee Roth, which you’ve also heard before, but what you haven’t heard until now is a studio album from a reunited Van Halen. With the release of the first track and accompanying video, “Tattoo”, it’s official, even without original bassist Michael Anthony in the lineup (replaced by Eddie’s kid, Wolfgang, making Van Halen something of a family reality show). Read more

What is it like going to a Guitar Show?

Just over a week ago I had the chance to visit the Orlando International Guitar & Music Expo 2012. That’s fancy-talk for ‘guitar show’.  If you’re not familiar with what a guitar show is then try thinking of it this way – we all get the concept of a convention or conference for business professionals – a big room with various vendor booths showing off the latest products (expo hall) and there are usually some speakers/presenters teaching or otherwise discussing the latest industry news, etc.  Well, other than NAMM, guitar shows are the closest thing to a business convention that we players, collectors and all-around guitar lovers have for our favorite subject!

While some of the largest guitar shows may offer special ‘clinics’ (training sessions are often sponsored by a manufacturer hoping to show you why you need to buy their latest products) not all guitar shows will offer much in the way of training.  However, what they ALL do have in common is their version of the ‘vendor expo hall’ where guitar dealers bring lots of cool (and often vintage) guitars, amps, effects and more hoping to sell/trade them to/with show attendees. In other words, it’s a lot like a big flea market for guitar and music gear!  And for the guitar lover it sure beats just about any other kind of shopping experience since you have so many cool old guitars under one roof.  I’ll take a guitar show over going to the mall with my wife any day! Read more

Limited Edition John Mayer Signature by Martin

Only 25 of these have been made, and John Mayer is personally signing and numbering each one at Winter NAMM 2012.

This is a very limited edition based on specifications and design elements that John Mayer requested of Martin, using their 12-fret 00 body size. Read more

Autotune Guitar Revealed by Peavey – Gimmick?

Peavey have teamed up with Antares to bring you the AT-200 — a guitar that simulates tuning — is this a gimmick? Read more

NAMM 2012: Charvel Desolation DST and DX Guitars

Charvel is proud to announce the return of two classic body shapes, both in sleekly modern Desolation series form.

New Desolation DST and DX guitars offer a variety of features and finishes prized by discerning players everywhere, and both deadly models deliver the devastating tone, killer looks and high-performance playability that separate the Desolation series from all others. Read more

NAMM 2012 – The Latest Guitars and Basses from ESP and LTD

What’s the best part of a new year? We already know the answer: it’s time for a big batch of new ESP and LTD guitars and basses to be announced! We think you’ll be very happy with our new offerings in 2012, so let’s jump in and see what’s coming this year!

New Finishes for ESP

The always-popular ESP Eclipse-II has some brilliant new finishes to choose from. In 2012, check out the brand new Volcano Red (VR), Mystic Black (MYBLK), and Silver Sunburst (SSB) finishes… they’re all guaranteed to stand out from the crowd! The Eclipse-II QM also offers two new finishes over its beautiful quilted maple top, with Reindeer Blue (RDB) and Black Aqua (BLKAQ) being added to the list. If you’re really into making a splash (and are into passive pickups), the new Eclipse-II w/Duncans has an amazing new Silver Sparkle (SSP) finish that can’t help but draw everyone’s attention!

As long as we’re talking about Eclipses, we should mention that the LTD EC-1000 also has a brand new look, with the hot Metallic Gold Sunburst (MGOSB) finish.

Fender ramps up its Squier line for 2012

It’s that time of year again, when everyone is on the edge of their seat—waiting and watching, for the shiny new products to be rolled out at NAMM. Calm down – this isn’t a game changing miracle device, but it’s still pretty cool.

Fender has introduced the new Squier models for 2012, putting some nice touches on a guitar line that has had less than impressive results in the past. Read more

Gibson 335-S Solidbody Electric Guitar

Down through history, people have constantly been in search of the next big thing. From the car, to the washing machine, the compact disc to the iPod, many things are thrown at the wall, but only certain things stick.

This same principle remains a constant in the field of guitars; the tried and true functional pieces ring true for players of all sorts, and the flashy toys eventually end up in the garbage can with yesterday’s potato chips. And yet, some of these things that really should be utilized to the fullest extent end up being tossed away with everything else, for one reason or another, only to be brought back into popularity many years later on a retro throwback trend. Read more

History of the Fender Telecaster

The Fender Telecaster is seen by many as the primordial electric guitar. Sure, one can argue that Paul Bigsby was also developing solid body instruments at the same time and in the same general area as Leo Fender but it is the Telecaster that is generally accepted as the first production solid guitar and the start of the modern guitar manufacturing business. Since its debut in 1952 Read more

Ultimate Recycling: Building The Cigar Box Guitar

The Dream Of Building Your Very Own Cigar Box Guitar

Our existence in the 21st Century has taken on a disposable quality that probably won’t be much admired by future historians. Look at us. Every time Apple trots out a new iWhatever, 50 million “old” iWhatevers get tossed out the window. Our jobs, our mortgages, our marriages, NBA contracts – it all gets torn up in the end, and we begin anew. Read more

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