All about guitars and vinyl – Joe Hoyle
Looking for a guitar that’s a bit different? Like alternative body shapes? Fender’s new Duo-Sonic and Mustang guitars and basses could be right up your street. Over the years both models have been released with various modifications. The latest versions benefit from a range of updates which include a string-through-body hardtail Strat bridge on the guitars.
(Read more…)
I play in a band. My son, Harry, plays in a band. By default we own a lot of amps and guitars. Our collection includes a couple of beautiful valve amps: a Marshall Custom JTM Offset and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III. So why did I buy Harry a solid state Fender Champion 100?
(Read more…)
Fender and Transport for London are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Stratocaster guitar and London’s famous Routemaster bus. The two companies are partnering on a bus emblazoned with Stratocaster imagery, which will serve London’s 24 bus route, and 25 limited edition Stratocaster guitars, which incorporate key design features of the iconic double-decker.
(Read more…)
Hot on the heels of the popular ’68 Custom Twin Reverb, ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb and ’68 Custom Princeton Reverb amps, Fender has just announced a new addition to the Vintage Modified Series: a 35-watt, 2×10 Silverface combo – the ’68 Custom Vibrolux Reverb.
(Read more…)
I have long been a fan of the Fender Jazzmaster. I love its quirky circuit switching, offset waist and range of tones. But I don’t own one for the simple reason that the bridge is a bit crap. Its the only weakness in an otherwise stellar guitar. Recently, however, a chance encounter led me to discover the Offset Mastery Bridge, a beautifully engineered replacement for the stock Jazzmaster bridge. All of a sudden, the acquisition of a Jazzmaster makes perfect sense.
(Read more…)
The Fender Custom Shop has announced its custom collection models for 2014.
(Read more…)
Fender has reissued some of its most fabled and desirable instruments, the Starcaster and Coronado, extending the range of models that comprise the popular Modern Player series.
(Read more…)
The Fender Custom Shop’s 2013 Custom Collection presents some of its most sophisticated and meticulously crafted product offerings to date, including eight guitars and two basses.
(Read more…)
When friend and bandmate, Sheila, announced that she had ordered the new Chris Shiflett Signature Telecaster Deluxe, I faced a double-edged sword. On the upside, the band will benefit from some new tonal qualities and the Ice Maiden will look even cooler than she normally does on stage with the Arctic White Shiflett hanging from her shoulders. On the downside, I can’t really get one myself now. You just doesn’t do that sort of thing. When it comes to guitar acquisition, copycat behaviour among bandmates is a no-no.
(Read more…)
Last week I got a phone call from my friend, Graeme. He was a little excited. He had money to spend and was on a mission to purchase a quality electric guitar and amplifier – to add to his collection. Like many of us, he suffers from Guitar Acquisition Syndrome. A noble affliction.
Graeme is a great guitarist, bassist, sound engineer, ex-studio owner, all-round audio guru and occasional reader of this blog. He knows I like nothing more than a trip to a guitar shop, so he invited me to join him on his mission by starting at my local: Guitar Guitar in Epsom. He said he valued my opinion. Pure flattery. He knows a good guitar when he plays one. He didn’t need me to advise him. He was just sharing the love. (Read more…)
