Virtuosic jazz-guitarist Jack Grassel has recently teamed up with master luthier Dan Smocke to build his latest, and as Jack calls it “his best,” guitar. Jack was gracious enough to sit down and record a video where he talks about the history of the guitar, why he chose to design it the way he did and perform on the instrument for our readers to hear this master picker in action.
Fender is proud to continue its long tradition of innovation by introducing the new Pawn Shop Series guitars—the Fender ’51, Fender ’72 and Mustang® Special. These instruments draw inspiration from the eccentric and sometimes wildly innovative Fender creations of the mid-’60s to mid-’70s era that sometimes found their way to the outside world and into the more esoteric pages of Fender history. With this adventurous spirit in mind, Pawn Shop Series instruments emerge as all-new Fender guitars with a boldly creative alchemy of diverse Fender components. And while they are brand-new members of the Fender family crafted with thoroughly modern sound and quality, Pawn Shop Series instruments now take the stage with a remarkable new identity as “guitars that never were but should have been.”
What do you get when you invite 15 great bands showcasing at SXSW to record acoustic numbers in a wine cellar decked with recording equipment, a former XM radio DJ, and two PRS acoustic guitars? You get internet radio’s new kid, New Normal Music, and their upcoming series “The ABC’s of SXSW on NNM.” Airing March 28 through April 1 on www.newnormalmusic.com, this uniquely indie acoustic program will feature wine-cellar recordings of fresh-faced artists performing exclusively with Paul Reed Smith acoustic guitars direct from SXSW 2011. “The ABC’s of SXSW on NNM” will play back these acoustic sessions in alphabetical order and will be hosted by NNM DJ’s Art and Tobi.
Koentopp Guitars has launched a new website showcasing its new line of handmade guitars. The new website incorporates beautiful pictures of Dan Koentopp at work as well as high definition pictures of each instrument from his line of Archtops, Classicals, and Electric Guitars. Dan makes it evident that each guitar is meticulously crafted by hand with the customer in mind from the very beginning.
Sheptone, an American manufacturer of guitar pickups today announces the release of their new line of single coil pickups for Strat-style electric guitars. All pickups are manufactured in the Port Orchard facility and are available immediately. The new models are designed to maintain the tones associated with Strat-style guitars but also expand on the tonal options and eliminate the problems often experienced by musicians over the years.
Some things were invented for obvious reasons. With others, the motivation is less clear. Consider, for example, the electric guitar. When guitarists first crudely electrified their instruments in the 1920s, what were they trying to do? Why change something that had been successful for hundreds of years? Could they have envisioned that the instrument that inspired some of Vivaldi’s and Boccherini’s most beautiful compositions would one day be used by Motorhead and Blink-182?
Paul Reed Smith kicked off its 2011 partnership with GRAND-AM Road Racing at the Rolex 24 Hours At Daytona last weekend. At the end of the historic endurance event, the overall win went to the Ganassi team of Pruett, Rojas, Rahal and Hand. Pruett and Rojas took the 2010 championship and are no strangers to PRS guitars as they have scored a total of nine trophy guitars for the Chip Ganassi team.
PRS Guitars is proud to announce that Paul Reed Smith is now a member of Vintage Guitar magazine’s prestigious Hall of Fame. Every year Vintage Guitar readers and contributors are asked to nominate a distinguished player, instrument, and innovator whose musical contributions have achieved elevated levels of acclaim and respect within the musical community.
Daisy Rock Girl Guitars is proud to welcome the very talented 21-year-old singer-songwriter Cady Groves to the family. The modest Groves said, “If Miranda Lambert, Paramore, The Dixie Chicks, and Taylor Swift all had a less-talented baby—that would be me.”
Paul Reed Smith Guitars and GRAND-AM Road Racing announced today they will continue their partnership during the 2011 Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 season. PRS President Jack Higginbotham will award the overall winner of the Rolex 24 At Daytona on January 30 with the first in a series of customized PRS guitars to kick off the 2011 season.
