Tasty Combo: Fender’s ‘57 Champ w/Custom Shop La Cabronita
Yummy… ever in search of smaller and more delectable tube amps for my guitar-playing pleasure, I came across this video over on Fender’s website this morning and just wanted to share it here. It’s a short but tantalizing demonstration of Fender’s newly reissued 5-watt tweed ‘57 Champ, paired with the company’s sexy Custom Shop La Cabronita Especial.
Unfortunately, my pocketbook says it’s time to stop bleeding-out, but honestly, great big sound from a tiny amp is my holy grail, and that 57 Champ’s got a lot of tone for such a small piece of equipment. I’ll be keeping an eye out to see what kind of deals appear on these little hand-wired beauties. They’re currently selling for just under $1,000. Way out of my price range.
The Custom Shop La Cabronitas are currently fetching a princely $5,000… anybody tried one yet? I’d be interested to hear your opinion –– they appear to be in short supply in these parts.
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Gibson Releases Free iPhone App – Tuner, Metronome, Chord Dictionary
Well, if you haven’t bit the bullet yet on a dedicated guitar app for your iPhone (or even if you have, really,) you might want to take a look at Gibson’s new offering.
Hey, it’s free, it’s good looking, and it’s loaded up with all the basics, including a tuner that supports multiple popular tunings, a tap metronome, a useful — if still somewhat limited — chord dictionary, and a library of lesson snippets.
I could do without the advertisement splash screen on boot-up, but other than that there’s a lot to love here at such an unbeatable price.
While I’m at it, I might mention that I’ve been using and loving the Peterson strobe tuner iPhone app –– iStroboSoft –– even if the name is terrible, and I still find myself making use of both the GuitarToolkit and iReadMusic; the latter being a great way to keep up on your guitar notation reading skills.
What about you? Got any favorite iPhone guitar apps?
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See & Hear Fender’s Acoustasonic Telecaster In Action
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Gretsch Introduces Tim Armstrong Electromatic Hollowbody
Looking for a totally murdered-out Hollowbody? Look no further –– Gretsch this month announced the availability of their latest signature model and it’s a black beauty –– the G5191BK Tim Armstrong Electromatic, in honor of talented Rancid/Operation Ivy guitarist and songwriter Tim Armstrong.
All done up in black and gold –– yep, that includes all gold-plated hardware including a harp tailpiece, adusto-matic bridge, pickup bezels, and grover tuners –– this beast really stands out in Gretsch’s already impressive line of hollowbody six-strings.
Built around a single cutaway body of laminated maple (17″ wide by 2.75″ deep,) the Tim Armstrong signature model will sport a laminated maple top finished in matte black urethane, a single-piece maple neck, rosewood fingerboard (12.5″ radius,) 21 Jumbo frets – plus zero fret – and block acrylic inlayed position markers.
Electronics will include a pair of “Black Top” Filter’Tron pickups, dual Volume controls, dual Tone controls, a Master Volume knob, and traditional 3-way pickup switching.
According to Gretsch, other unique features will include a white graphite nut, pearloid Gretsch headstock inlay, black headstock overlay, 4-ply top and back binding, 3-ply fretboard and headstock binding, single-ply f-hole binding, and Tim Armstrong’s signature on the truss rod cover.
The Gretsch Tim Armstrong G5191BK Electromatic Hollowbody is currently selling for a street price of around $1,150, and is apparently actually available in a left-handed model. A gig bag ($100) or an economy hardshell case ($130) are optional.
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Check it out! See The Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Boy In Action
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Recreating Pink Floyd’s ‘Welcome To The Machine’ Using Electro Harmonix Effects
Well, the insatiably curious Bill Rupert has done it again folks, with the latest edition of Effectology. This time out he manages to very accurately recreate Pink Floyd’s gorgeously creepy ‘Welcome To The Machine’ using nothing but an electric guitar, an electric razor, an old telephone, and a handful of Electro-Harmonix effects pedals.
Seriously, I don’t know how he does it… but you can –– as always, Rupert covers the whole set-up in-depth over at the EHX forums. Check it out. If nothing else, you will be stunned at the man’s creativity. Enjoy!
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Gibson Unveils 50th Anniversary 1960 ES-335TD
Well, I was thoroughly entrenched at San Francisco International Airport, anxiously awaiting lift-off for New Orleans (and Mardi Gras, baby!) when Gibson announced their latest Custom Shop extravaganza –– the new 50th Anniversary 1960 ES-335TD.
That was nearly a week ago, but today I finally got a few minutes to do some research on it.
Like other recent editions from Gibson’s venerable Custom Shop, this beauty appears to be well out of range of your average guitarist (myself included,) with MSRPs hovering in the mid-$5,000 to low-$6,000 range… but it’s a looker for sure, and I have no doubt it’s something to behold… Just wish I could afford to play one.
According to Gibson, the ES-335 changed quite a bit over the course of 1960, but to celebrate the Golden Anniversary of this classic guitar the Custom Shop has chosen to reproduce the so-called “fast neck profile” model –– arguably the most unique version of the 335 to come out that year.
Among other things, the 50th Anniversary 1960 ES-335 will feature a laminated-maple body (top, back and sides,) with a solid maple centerblock, choice of three different VOS-aged nitrocellulose finishes (Antique Natural, Antique Faded Cherry, and Antique Vintage Sunburst,) period-correct hardware, and a one-piece mahogany neck with maple spline and 12″ radius rosewood fretboard.
Electronics are expected to include traditional “insert” Tone and Volume knobs, bumble-bee capacitors, a 1/4″ Switchcraft output jack, and a duo of Gibson’s accurate PAF reproductions –– the 57 Classic humbuckers.
Additionally, according to Gibson’s write-up the neck on the ES-335TD has been totally re-tooled for accurate truss rod profile and channel depth, utilizing scans of by the Custom Shop’s Engineering Team.
The Gibson 50th Anniversary 1960 ES-335TD will ship with a silk-screened Custom Shop hardshell case with black pleather exterior, charcoal plush interior, a Certificate of Authenticity, and all the usual goodies and documentation. Prices range from $5645 to $6115.
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Nice… The Way Huge Aqua-Puss Is Back!
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Gibson Announces Custom Shop 50th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul Standard
Well, it looks like Gibson is releasing yet another Custom Shop reproduction of a much-coveted classic Les Paul –– this time in three different versions to capture three distinct personalities of the transitional 1960 Les Paul Standard.
Dubbed the 50th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul Standard, the guitars will feature period-accurate accoutrements including the now classic tonewood combination of carved maple top with solid mahogany back, old-school PAF-style BurstBucker humbuckers with Alnico II magnets, long-tenon neck joint, a back-angled headstock, and a traditional thin nitrocellulose finish.
Version One of the guitar is expected to feature a full-size, single-piece mahogany neck with rounded neck profile, top-hat control knobs, and will be available in one of two finishes: Heritage Dark Sunburst or Heritage Cherry Sunburst. It will also sport a 1960 serial number stamped into the headstock back, along with the R0 serial number of the 50th Anniversary model.
Version Two will feature a thinner, but still slightly rounded and elliptical neck profile, which was apparently based on scans of a number of ’60s LPs taken by Gibson’s Custom Historic and Engineering team. The guitar will be available in two “faded” finishes: Sunset Tea Burst or Light Iced Tea.
Version Three of the guitar will feature a classic slim-taper neck, double-band tuners, a set of gold top-hat control knobs with silver inserts, and a colorfast Cherry Sunburst finish that painstakingly recreates Gibson’s finishing process from the later part of 1960.
The Custom Shop 50th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul Standards will be built in a limited run of just 500 instrument all together, and will ship with a hardshell case and a 50th Anniversary Certificate of Authenticity. MSRP is currently set at $8,504.
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Fender Busts Out With Acoustic/Electric Hybrid: The Acoustasonic Tele
Wow… I definitely didn’t see this one coming, and I have to say I love the design. Check out that rosewood Telecaster bridge! Very cool looking guitar. And Fender has apparently built a truly usable Electric/Acoustic hybrid guitar if word from the NAMM demonstrations are any indication.
According to Fender, the new Acoustasonic Tele packs both traditional Telecaster tone and feel (note the Custom Shop Twisted Tele pickup in the neck position,) and a believable acoustic guitar component (via a Fishman Piezo Pickup and on-board Aura pre-amp,) into a single, and rather traditional looking Fender package.
The guitar is built utilizing a chambered Ash body with a Spruce wedge center block, and sports a modern “C” shaped maple neck with satin finish (25.5″ scale length,) a rosewood fretboard (9.5″ radius,) and 21 MJ frets.
Of course, the real stand-out here is in the electronics department: as mentioned before the Acoustasonic Tele sports a Twisted Tele single-coil at the bridge, but raises the bar with a full suite of acoustic guitar sounds via an under-saddle Piezo pickup, active Tone control, a trio of PC-board mounted trim pots for volume adjustment, and and 18-volt bridge-mounted pre-amp with four pre-sets emulating various acoustic guitar tones.
Interestingly, while I don’t see it mentioned on Fender’s official website, according to a product write-up at one of the big online guitar retailers, the Acoustasonic Tele sports a “braceless graphite composite top with a directional woodgrain-like pattern that reacts and sounds like spruce.” Huh?
The guitar comes in your choice of Olympic White or 3-Color-Sunburst, and ships with a Deluxe gig bag. It’s currently selling for a street price right around $1,000. I’ll get you more info as it becomes available.
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