Jim Campilongo returns to GRS with his latest record, “She Loved the Coney Island Freak Show” that takes us on sonic journey that inspires, provokes thought and touches the heart. It’s astounding.Sit back and enjoy this in depth interview with one of our favorite musicians.
Billy Crain is last living seminal player from the emergence of the Southern rock scene. Since the early 1970s, he’s been a historical performer and songwriter, with tenures in The Outlaws, the Henry Paul Band, and the Charlie Daniels Band.Billy has announced the formation of Rogue Warrior Music. The charitable organization carries on his personal mission to support veterans returning from international conflict. Primarily intended to draw attention to the challenges of navigating PTSD, and the very common circumstance of being mistreated via drugs versus counseling and other solutions such as his therapeutic songwriting sessions.
Only a few short years ago so many publications (NY Times, LA Times, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, etc) were telling us all that “Guitar was Dead” or dying. Since then we have seen a resurgence of sales of guitars and basses skyrocket and guitar based music once again taking the forefront in music.
This week alone we’ve seen Nita Strauss leave the Alice Cooper band after 8 years and join Demi Lovato, Zakk Wylde team up with Charlie Benante and the surviving members of Pantera for a “reunion/tribute tour, Jeff Beck drops his latest a collaboration with Johnny Depp of all people, Joe Satriani announces the return of G4 and Fender announces that there will be much more affordable models of their Acoustisonic line coming soon.
Nita Strauss- Now hear me out, I think this is one of the most important things to happen to the guitar in a long time and Nita has (whether she realizes it our not) positioned herself to be the impetus to bring the guitar and guitar based music to a demographic that normally could care less. She’s in the unique position to inspire so many more people to pick up the instrument that might not have ever thought to do so before. So, for those who say the guitar was dead or dying, this is exactly the type of thing the instrument needs and quite frankly deserves regardless whether you like Demi Lovato’s music or not.
Zakk Wylde- when there was a rumor flying around that the surviving members of Pantera were talking about doing something, my very first thought went to Zakk. Quite frankly, in my opinion there is no guitarist alive other than Zakk who could do the job and bring that music to life. The relationship Dime and Zakk had was a type of telepathy/understanding that is rare and unique. To be honest I was only a fan of the Vulgar record but something of this magnitude I will have to see this tour as I have no doubt it will be historical.
Jeff Beck- Releases “18” his collaboration with Johnny Depp (neighbor, friend and now band mate?) So anyone who thinks this is weird doesn’t know or understand Jeff. This is what he does. What he’s always done. Almost his entire career has been left turns like this. After all, this is the guy who brought us, Frankie’s House, The Flash record, Loud Hailer, as well as seminal offerings like Blow by Blow, Wired and Truth. He’s always been all over the map and and 18 is no different. Is this my favorite JB offering? Not really, but am I happy I have it? Yes. Tracks like Midnight Walker and Caroline No do the job to salve my soul and my JB fix. Would I like more? Sure. Would I have preferred he didn’t cover the old Motown track Ooo Baby Baby? Absolutely. But hardcore Beck fans know what to expect. This is it. The tour should be interesting….
Joe Satriani- Joe is bringing back his G4 Experience guitar workshop with help from a host of six-string heroes including Peter Frampton, Steve Lukather, John 5 Alex Skolnick, Eric Gales, Nili Brosch, Ned Evett and more.
The four-day event will take place from Jan. 3-7 at Las Vegas’ Hilton Lake Vegas Resort. Participants will get to enjoy “four days and nights of total guitar nonstop workshops, concerts, jamming and more,” according to the G4 website, where registration is now open.
THRILL SEEKERS, PLAYERS, STUDENTS AND TRAVELERS OF ALL AGES, SKILL LEVEL, AND INTERESTS ARE WELCOME!
Fender- CEO Andy Mooney announced that fender is now in the planning stages to produce the popular Acoustisonic line out of Southeast Asia and we could potentially see a price point between $500-$800. Not bad considering the MIM version starts at $1050.
So, is the guitar dead? Or dying? Nah. It just had the best week in recent memory… More to come.
The Top 20 Guitar Records of 2021- The criteria: Its guitar based music, sounds good, feels good, and makes us kept moving back for another listen.
20 Sue Foley- Pinky’s Blues
19 JD Simo-Mind Control
18 Billy Gibbons- Hadware
17 Earl Slick- Fistful of devils
16 Mammoth WVH- Self titled
15 Trip The Witch- Self Titled
14 Robben Ford- Pure
13 Reed Turchi- Road ends in Water
12 Pino Palladino & Blake Mills- Notes with attachments
11 Pasquale Grasso- Solo ballads
10 Black Keys Delta- Cream
9 Tommy Guerrero -Sunshine radio
8 Bryan Rahija- Timber
7 Ren Yamamoto- Yang
6 Colin Linden- Blow
5 Tom Bukovac- Plexi Soul
4 Marc Ford- Live in Germany
3 Pat Metheny- Side Eye Live
2 Jim Oblon- Spit and Dirt Club
1 Scott McKeon- New Morning
500 Words Fender Champ Amps by Adam Hunt
The Fender Champ loved by players around the world. It’s distinctive sound was made famous by Eric Clapton’s work on the singular Derek and the Dominos album. Despite it’s diminutive size it punches above its weight in studio settings.
Prior to establishing Fender Musical Instruments in 1946 Leo Fender and Clayton “Doc” Kauffman ran a short-lived music company called K&F in 1945. Originally launched in 1948 as the Champion“800” I’m sure that the Champ’s origins stretch back to Leo Fender’s days with K&F.
According to amp repairman and tube amp historian, Aspen Pittman, the earliest versions of the K&F amps were not equipped with a tone and volume control because both the tone and volume were controlled by the lap steel guitar that was sold with the amp.
The omission of dedicated tone and volume controls however was not an uncommon practice for amps that were produced during the late 1940s.
Looking at the topography of K&F “lunchbox” amps and the original “tweed” Champs the similarities are striking. Both the “800” and the K&F “lunchbox” had a simple tone/volume layout, a single 8” speaker, pine cabinet, 5Y3 rectifier and a 6V6 power tube that put out a staggering 4 watts of power.
Throughout the years the venerable Champ went through many changes in terms of cosmetics, speaker size, wattage and features. Despite these changes the Champ remains a portable, affordable and beloved musical partner.
So well liked in fact “The Tube Amp Book” author Apen Pittman considers the 1958 version of the Champ as one of his picks as one of the top ten all time classic amps.
Pittman was keen to point out why the Champ has remained so popular was its nearly unrivaled ability to distort at a low volume making it mic friendly in recording situations.
But as the years had progressed the Champion “800” eventually transformed itself into something resembling a lower priced Princeton. Not that that’s a bad thing but those interceding changes does mean the Champ has lost some of it’s unique characteristics.
Fear not, however, for players wishing to capture the sounds of early rock ‘n’ roll or gutbucket blues both VaulveTrain and Victoria make some stunning modern versions of Fender “tweed” style amps.
For those that have slightly less deep pockets used Fender “tweed” reissues can also be found for a reasonable price online.
As a player I find there’s a raw excitement in plugging into something like a Champ because there simply isn’t any hiding. Every bend, every flub, becomes immediately apparent. Champ style amps also force a player really concentrate on squeezing the most out of each note if you want to get the guitar to sing. I also think that without regard to stylistic choice any player can benefit by practicing with a Champ style amp.
Any one who is looking for an affordable vintage voiced amp may also want to check out a Champ because a modern, high gain, amp may not capture that vintage vibe you are looking for.
Check ‘em out.
…And so it begins, the 38th Annual Dallas International Guitar Festival. The wild, the weird and the wonderful of wire and wood. Day one included lots of great gear and performances.
500 Words The Tube Screamer
Since its inception the Tube Screamer has been carved itself out a niche in music history. Starting off life as fuzz pedal the Maxon made / Ibanez branded OD855 Overdrive II the OD855 was the first step in its long history of the TS -808 Tube Screamer.
Maxon (Nisshin Opan) made many effects pedals in the mid sixties and also supplied pickups for many Japanese guitar companies including Aria, Greco and Ibanez.
By 1979 the TS-808 version of the Tube Screamer was made available and gained notoriety for being one of the first pedals to offer a naturalistic overdrive sound. While Stevie Ray Vaughn may not have been the first player to use the Tube Screamer he did a lot to help popularize it.
Other noted Tube Screamer users have been Trey Anistasio, John Mayer, Derek Trucks, Kim Gordon, Billy Duffy, and Brent Hinds.
It’s hard to imagine a time before the TS and while DOD, MXR, Pro Co and Ross all offered some sort of distortion pedal the 808 was smoother and less fuzz inspired.
While not really the ungodly hell-box of distortion the 808 gives even a clean amp a very acceptable blues rock tone. Even though the TS won’t give you a Black Sabbath sound with an 808, a delay and Strat you easily get to David Gilmour land.
The Tube Screamer strength as a pedal is its ability to work well with almost any guitar with any amp for almost every genre of music. I’ve used it as a clean boost with a Fender amp and a Strat and I’ve used one to create some true sonic mayhem when plugging a Les Paul into a Soldano.
While original release 808s fetch a pretty penny on the used market Maxon has made a variety of reissues and both Keeley and Analog Man offer pedal modification services so you can get reasonably close to the original TS sound without with out spending a small fortune for a stomp box.
Owing to the TS popularity a host of imitators have come along and I think there are a few worth looking at:
The Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive. There’s a lot to like about this pedal especially the “clean” knob that acts like a blend knob for some effects loop.
The Barber LTD. Even though it’s not marketed as TS clone the tone and the “feel” of the pedal are very TS inspired, but the LTD is more sophisticated and richer sounding.
Xotic AC Plus. Like the Barber it’s not marketed as a TS clone but with enough experimentation with blending the two channels that sound is in there.
BBE Green Screamer. This is a very convincing 808-style pedal. Although I don’t have any experience with newer BBE G Green Screamer OG-1 the original green and sliver BBE Green Screamer runs about half the price of a Maxon 808.
These are classic pedals and can be used to enhance almost anything you play.
Adam P Hunt is a freelance writer who has previously written for The Library Journal and Premier Guitar Magazine. We are so happy to have him join us here at Guitar Radio Show.com.
500 Words: Is Gibson Guitar Finished?
Founded in 1884 by Orville H. Gibson, Gibson Guitars has been so closely associated with the development of American popular music. Orville Gibson’s development of the arch top guitar and innovative mandolin designs proved to be louder and more durable than their contemporaries and quickly became in demand.
From the Gilded Age, through the Jazz Age, the Great Depression and two World Wars Gibson survived numerous ownership changes and changes in the taste of audiences. Gibson even survived a rather bleak period known as the Norlin years that lasted from 1969 to 1986.
Gibson guitars also found their way into the hands of such early rock and roll notables as Chuck Berry and Danny Cedrone.
While Berry’s name should be immediately familiar to any one with a passing knowledge of 20th Century popular music, Danny Cedrone’s may not be. Danny Cedrone was a session musician and has been credited for playing guitar on Bill Haley’s version of “Rock Around the Clock”.
In 1986 three investors, Henry Juszkiewicz, David Berryman and Zebrowski bought Gibson and initially things seemed have looked promising. Under new ownership Gibson seemed to have righted it’s course and addressed many of the quality control issues that plagued Norlin era instruments.
Over the years Gibson has purchased many non-guitar related companies such as Cerwin Vega, Baldwin Pianos and Slingerland Drums. In November 2014 CEO Henry Juszkiewicz announced, “We’re no longer (just) a guitar company any more”.
I’ve intentionally chosen to ignore forum posts concerning Gibson’s quality control because anonymous forum posters aren’t reliable sources of information.
One complaint about Gibson, however, seems to be pretty widespread and that is their shift away from focusing on smaller, independent music retailers, and more on large chain stores like Guitar Center and Sam Ash.
The problem, in part, that GC’s business model was predicated on opening twelve new stores a year. That’s great, if there were a nigh unlimited amount of people that wanted to buy guitars.
Too be fair, Paul Reed Smith has also hitched their wagon to the Sam Ash and GC horse but it’s a good bet that neither Gibson nor PRS had realized that the GC horse had a terminal case of Coccidioidomycosis.
But by both companies limiting their distribution to a small number of retailers they’ve successfully alienated themselves from smaller, independent retailers.
Another problem is that the economic model that existed to support musicians is disappearing. Once upon a time recording artists could expect royalties from record sales and radio airplay but those royalties too have all but evaporated.
A lot of clubs and rehearsal spaces have also vanished so there are fewer venues for small and medium size acts to play.
Gibson isn’t the only one in peril, as musicians we all are.
If musicians can’t support themselves, the future of music looks pretty grim.
I’m pretty sure before things get sorted out at least one major company is going bankrupt.
I’m not 100% who, but I have my guess.
Adam P Hunt is a freelance writer who has previously written for The Library Journal and Premier Guitar Magazine. We are so happy to have him join us here at Guitar Radio Show.com.
When passion runs deep in a musician, it’s usually noticeable in the first few notes they play. It strikes you immediately. It’s an undeniable vibe, feeling, mojo (call it what you want) that makes you say “More of that please”.
Such as the case with the new release from Scott Gailor.
Technicolor Monochrome is a trip into a passionate guitarists mind as he leads us on a sonic twisting turning adventure of style with a new level of precision and grace not seen in awhile.
From the jaw busting opening track “G Body Shuffle” to the modal woodshedding of the closer “Tribal Redux” this is the disc in 2015 that’s gonna make you want to practice. A lot.
Is Scott Gailor doing what many other guitarists do? Sure, but his passion is the stand out on this ten song, fat toned, heart filled, technical gonzo. You can hear it in every note weaving in and out of varied styles with class and ease. Let’s face it, we all wanna play like this guy.
The stand out track for me is “No Smoking Section”. Just the opening chords, especially the ones coming through the middle speakers is subliminally telling me to “Break Some Furniture!!”
Rock and Roll People!!! Scott Gailor is preaching the word and its time to listen.
Technicolor Monochrome should be in your collection and thanks to Scott we all need to practice more. Scott is trying to have physical copies for the release of the album, so he has started a Kick Starter to fund that part of the project, check it out:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/592786334/scott-gailor-technicolor-monochrome
Mark Daven
Guitar Radio Show
Adam P Hunt is a freelance writer who has previously written for The Library Journal and Premier Guitar Magazine. We are so happy to have him join us here at Guitar Radio Show.com.
500 Words From Adam P Hunt Magnets
The use of magnets is an old one and extends at least as far back as 600 BCE. Alnico magnets, the ones that we as musicians have come to know and love, however, are a startling recent development and only dates back to 1935.
Interestingly enough of Einstein’s work on the Unified Field Theory (an attempt to unify the conflicts between radiation, gravity and electro magnetism) dates from 1915 to 1933 after he wrote the On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies in 1905.
For centuries alchemists, amateurs, tinkerers, scientists and crackpots have sought not only to understand how magnets work but equally importantly how to make them more stable and permanent.
1921 saw the development of one of the first permanent magnets, the cobalt chrome steel magnet. The cobalt chrome steel magnet was quickly soon followed by the alnico and cunife magnets in 1935, the platinum cobalt magnet in 1936, ferrite (ceramic) magnets in 1951, samarium cobalt magnets in 1969, and rare earth magnets developed throughout the 1970’s and ‘80s.
Permanent magnets allowed stable, long lasting, powerful magnetic fields. According to The Magnetic Materials Group of SPS Technologies paper titled “Understanding and Using Permanent Magnets”;
“A permanent magnet is a material that when inserted into a strong magnetic field will not only begin to exhibit a magnetic field of it’s own, but also continue to exhibit a magnetic field once removed from the original field. This field would allow the magnet to exert force (ability to attract or repel) on other magnetic materials. The exhibited magnetic field would then be continuous without weakening provided the material is not subjected to a change in environment (temperature, demagnetizing field, etc.). The ability to continue exhibiting a field while withstanding different environments helps to define the capabilities and types of applications in which a magnet can be successfully used.“
These properties are extremely desirable where small magnets are needed especially in certain types of motors and watches, and especially for microphones, speakers, and guitar pickups.
Brian Robinson wrote a piece for the Scotty Moore website http://www.scottymoore.net/ on the rise of the now fabled alnico V magnet pickups;
“Though the pickups had a specific designation at Gibson, they are referred to by collectors as “alnico V” pickups because they incorporated alnico V magnets. Use of an alnico V magnet isn’t particularly unique (Gibson has used the same magnet on several pickups) but that name has always stuck with that pickup. The pickup was designed by Seth Lover, the man who invented the humbucker. Gibson had been using the P90 pickup exclusively on all electric guitars for several years. Gibson asked Lover, who worked for Gibson in its R&D and electronics department, to come up with a more powerful pickup that more closely resembled the D’Armond single coil pickup that was popular at that time (D’Armonds were most notably used on the Gretsch duo jet line and other Gretsch electrics)”.