Monday, 31 January 2005

Who's Guitar? Gibson recreate Pete Townshend's "No.1" Les Paul Deluxe guitar complete with the added middle pickup and 2 mini toggle switches to tap it and put it out of phase.
Guitar Karaoke from Fender: Fender announce the World's first guitar digital entertainment centre with built-in effects and instrument backing with drum beats and bass lines.
Synth Guitar For Less Than $800: Godin break the price barrier with the Godin Freeway SA.
No More Rusty Guitar Strings: Elixir introduce longer lasting anti-rust strings.
Schecter Banshee 'Modern Vintage' Electric Guitar: I like the styling of this one. It looks familiar but different at the same time.
LGM launches Leviathan Series Electric Guitars: it's just the ticket u=if you like 'em pointy pointy pointy!

Thursday, 27 January 2005

Ibanez AEF20CSNERLG Nylon Acoustic-Electric: Nice name... Sorry, that's me being sarcastic. I hate these awkward model numbers and codes. Give it a name that everyone can remember! Having said that, it looks to be an instrument that I wouldn't mind having in my collection: nylon-electric with a slim neck, medium-sized body. Sounds great!
Slammer T5 Series Guitars: cheapo Tele copies, courtesy of Hamer (I do believe).
Archtop P90 Goldtop Added to Hamer's XT Series: reminiscent of a Les Paul double cutaway, and nicely priced too!
Takamine's LTD2005 Model Unveiled at NAMM: just what we've all been waiting for... a guitar with a picture of a bullrush embedded in the top. Weird. It's probably a nice guitar though.
New "Truckster" James Hetfield Signature Model from ESP: personally I can't see why anyone would want a guitar with a crappy finish like this, but I suppose the Metallica fans will like it.
Dave Mustaine Axxion Joins ESP Signature Line: New signature series guitar recognizes 20 years of Megadeth. Another weird shape from ESP.
ESP Introduces New Guitars for 2005: there's a spiky one, there's a knobbly-looking one, and there's a lop-sided looking acoustic. All in black.
Epiphone and Nick Valensi Team Up for Signature Riviera: he's the guitarist for The Strokes apparently. Nice guitars though!
DigiTech Introdudes GNX2000 Guitar Workstation: Allows guitarists total creative freedom for stage and studio, with features like XLR outputs for plugging directly into PA systems, and a USB interface for hard disk recording applications.
Epiphone Announces Guitar Of The Month Program For 2005: I've linked to a news story about this already, but here we get the low down on each of the models from Epiphone themselves!

Tuesday, 25 January 2005

Guitars gently weep: Sale of rare guitar and amp collection in Toronto aids cancer research.
No More foxx Hunting: Furry 70s stompboxes stage a comeback.
The Plexi is back: Marshall expands the handwired series with 100W classic.
H.R. Giger Limited Edition Guitars from Ibanez: limited edition guitars feature graphic designs by the influential modern painter and sculptor (and creator of the Alien in the Alien series of movies).
Washburn Pilsen Idol Series Electric Guitars: I always liked their Idol guitars. This "Pilsen" version seems to be more beefed up, something along the lines of a Les Paul.
Fender speed-e Keychain Tuner: the world's first fully functioning keychain guitar tuner!
Fender Time Machine '66 Stratocaster: the new Time Machine series 1966 Stratocaster guitar is an exact reproduction of one of the most rapidly collectable Stratocaster guitars around, right down to its nitrocellulose-lacquered alder body with a WLS undercoat.
A Guitar A Month: Epiphone launch a new series of limited edition electrics - one for each month of 2005.
Yamaha RGX320FZ and RGX520FZ Electric Guitars: Yamaha Guitars announces its first true double cutaway set-neck guitar at Winter NAMM.
New T5 Thinline 5-Way Guitar from Taylor: There are electric guitars, there are acoustic guitars, and now, there is the new Taylor "T5" - a little bit of both, and a whole lot more. Allegedly.
New Artcore Semi-Hollow Guitar from Ibanez: First-ever semi-acoustic with tremolo but no backplate tremolo cavity (not including guitars with Bigsby style trems, obviously).
Ibanez Debuts First SZ Prestige Guitar: Ooh, it looks to be quite nice. I've never liked Ibanez guitars before.
Washburn debuts Timbercraft Solid Wood Acoustic Guitars: The five models have solid spruce tops with solid wood backs and sides, as well as one piece mahogany necks.
Brian Moore Guitars debuts iGuitar.USB at Winter NAMM: "The iGuitar.USB is the first guitar to offer on-board, Class Compliant USB audio to streamline the guitar to computer connection eliminating the need for an external audio interface."
New Southern NiteFly Guitar from Parker: it looks like a Parker Fly crossed with a Telecaster!

Friday, 21 January 2005

Canvas Guitars and Basses: I quite like these simple but fresh designs.
Blackmachine: super thin, hand-built, paint-free guitars from London.
New Squier Master Series Electric Guitars: although these include some new non-Fender bodyshapes, I still like the Thinline Tele.
Eric Johnson Signature Stratocaster: A long time coming for some, Fender has officially announced an Eric Johnson signature model, constructed with a contoured 2-piece Alder body, maple neck, and custom pickups.

Thursday, 20 January 2005

Luna Guitars ... Engaging, Passionate & Uniquely Feminine: Armadillo Enterprises proudly introduces Luna Guitars, a line of guitars and basses designed uniquely for females of all ages. See: www.lunaguitars.com

Tuesday, 18 January 2005

Ex-Bread guitarist Jimmy Griffin dies: Former guitarist for 1970s pop group Bread and Academy Award-winning songwriter Jimmy Griffin has died. Griffin co-founded Bread who were responsible for hits such as "Make It With You", "Everything I Own" and "Baby I'm-A Want You".
Reissue Hagstrom Guitars Start Shipping: The legendary Hagstrom line will be officially relaunched at the 2005 Winter NAMM Show. The classic brand, now being manufactured and distributed by American Music & Sound (AM&S) under license from AB Albin Hagstrom, has just begun shipping. See also the new website: www.hagstromguitars.com
Guitar Chord Library: Look up Guitar Chords - Illustrated Pages of Guitar Chords.
Guitarists Continue To Rock: Guitar virtuosos use talents to create a thriving niche market.
Statue of punk guitarist unveiled: A bronze statue honouring late punk guitarist Johnny Ramone was unveiled before hundreds of celebrities and cheering fans at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Friday, 14 January 2005

Lennon 'almost gave up on guitar': John Lennon almost gave up playing guitar after just two lessons, one of his early bandmates reveals.
Elvis Guitar: Gibson signature model honours the King

Wednesday, 12 January 2005

Electric Guitar Signed by More Than 30 Music Superstars Goes Up for Auction on eBay: Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Rod Stewart, Tim McGraw, Lenny Kravitz and others sign 'Today' show Toyota concert series guitar to raise money for the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. See the guitar here.
Damageplan guitar up for auction: The Blitz WBZX 99.7 (www.wbzx.com) are auctioning off a Washburn Dime V guitar (signed by all members of Damageplan, including late guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott).
Switch guitars: these guitars are interesting. They claim to feature Vibracell technology. I believe this refers to the stuff they're actually built from, that is, some kind of plastic resin. Interesting they have both electric and acoustic models in their catalogue. I like the ones that look as if they've been styled after the Burns Flyte guitar.

Monday, 10 January 2005

Guitar man's tsunami aid plan stalled: A man tries to sell Garth Brooks signed guitar on eBay to raise money for the tsunami survivors, but is it real or is it a fake?
If that guitar could talk ... Burton Harris reflects on his adventures on stage and off.

Saturday, 8 January 2005

Jimi Hendrix Best Guitar Face: Didn't they do this "guitar face" crap last year?
This Gibson Les Paul Standard signed by Slash is being auctioned on eBay as part of The Sun's Tsunami Appeal Auction. Update: the winning bid was for £6,900.
GuitarResources.net: A wealth of guitar tablature and chords.
Legendary guitarist Hank Garland dies at the age of 74: He performed with Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers and Patsy Cline among others.
Gibson Debuts Americana Series with Chambered Body Design: Gibson USA's new Americana Series features the Pioneer, a round-shouldered, cutaway dreadnought, and the Ranger, reminiscent of the L-00 design. The guitars are based on the Chet Atkins SST solidbody acoustic concept and have a new body chambering process for extra resonance.
Les Paul Standard Gets Faded Finishes: these look great. It's a pity that they aren't in the same budget price range as Gibson's 2004 Faded series.