GEAR 23_COVER - JHS

REVIEWS Fret-King Blue Label Super S and Super T • Fishman SoloAmp ultra-portable PA • Kustom ‘Double Cross’ 100W amp 

• New Fishman-equipped Vintage electro-acoustics • Diago pedal board • N-Tune onboard guitar tuners 

FEATURES Allen & Heath mixer user guide • Wittner metronomes • Laka ukuleles • Snap Jacks • Regal Tip • New full-size 

SpongeBob Squarepants guitars! • BANDS GALORE! Disturbed • Saxon’s Graham Oliver • WIN! A Vintage V6 electric guitar 

with N-Tune tuner! • A Dano Cool Cat Pedal case with five pedals! • A Summer Festival Music Pack!

Milo Milo Mitchinson Mitchinson 

Breakout Breakout Degree Degree 

V100MRTSB - ICON 

MIK CRONE 

AV1 - ADVANCE 

K.O.KAINE 

James Browne 

Hungry Ghosts 

AV6PLB - ADVANCE 

UK Guns N Roses 

AV3 - ADVANCE 

Jon Sudbury 

Bernie Tormé 

GMT 

V6 - ICON 

Birdy Birdy 

Kid Kid Ego Ego 

V100 - ICON Lemon Drop 

Geoff Whitehorn 


Gary Sanford 


Joe Jackson and Aztec Camera 

Andy Andy 

Fado Fado Rock Rock 

V1004SP 

Joe Gooch 

Ten Years After 

AV6HGW - ADVANCE 

Chris Chris Roberts Roberts 

CRAINE CRAINE 

AV1HFH - ADVANCE 

Graham Graham Spike Oliver Oliver 

Saxon Saxon 

VR2001BMS - METAL AXXE 

Graham 

WITH OLIVER DAWSON SAXON 

the Vintage METAL AXXE 

RAIDER cuts and thrusts like 

no other ..............and it looks 

cool too! 

Andy 

"The V1004 looks great, feels 

great and supplies me with an 

endless source of tasty tones!” 

® 

Exclusive Worldwide Trade Distributors: 

www.jhs.co.uk 

ADVANCE • ICON • REISSUE

35 JOHN MOYER – An American band with a growing European fanbase, Gear 

caught up with Disturbed’s acclaimed bassist John Moyer to find out why he 

chose Kustom to produce his new signature series of bass gear – and why his 

signature KBA16XJM 16 watt practice combo is very cool indeed! 

53 GRAHAM OLIVER – Original guitarist with Barnsley metallers Saxon, 

Graham talked to Gear about the Oliver Dawson version of Saxon came 

about, how they played their part in the Spinal Tapo movie and 

why his new Metal Axxe guitar fit the bill! 

9 PAUL RODGERS – So who exactly hasn’t the legendary 

frontman singer/songwriter played with in a four decade 

career? Currently enjoying huge success with Queen, Paul’s 

a dedicated Rhythm Tech tambourine man too. 

33 GWYN ASHTON – Veteran blueser Gwyn Ashton finds yet 

another way to attack the blues, and how – this time it’s with his Two Man Blues Army... 

19 ROY FULTON – Top Irish guitarist Roy Fulton gives us a personal ‘user report’ on 

his Fret-King Esprit 5. 

7 

35 

14 AL GARE – You can’t have missed Imelda May’s rockabilly revival – this girl gives it 

some major attitude, and Al Gare is her fabulous boppin’ bassist, powering away on 

radio hits like ‘Johnny Got A Boom Boom’! 

43 CRASH TEST KUSTOM – Ever left an amp stuck in a tree for a week following a car crash, then gone 

back, found it, checked it, plugged it in, powered it up – and continued to use it... Dave Press did. 

Here’s why. 

22 ENCORE REFLECTIONS – Experienced guitarist Mick Morris has some tasty guitars at his disposal, 

but his humble Encore E6 electric provided the ideal sound for Mick’s recently-recorded solo album. 

7 SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS – Lots more now becoming available on the instrument front as 

SpongeBob guitars go full size! Here’s what’s bound to be the hottest summer sellers from the 

little yella fella! 

56 WITTNER – For over a century this family-owned 

metronome company has provided perfect timing. 

17 N-TUNE – We love this neat new onboard tuner – it 

manages to be cool, practical and still gadgety all at the same time! 

34 

REVIEWS 

28 FRET-KING BLUE LABEL SUPER S AND SUPER T – Gear tries out these two ‘workingman’s’ guitars from the 

Blue Label range and finds there’s much to like about what both instruments have to offer. 

34 KUSTOM DOUBLE CROSS AMP – Get ready to rage hard, as Kustom introduces 

a 100 watt all-valve amp head surely destined for the big stage, thanks to a 

three channel design dressed up in a killer-looking design! 

12 FISHMAN SOLOAMP – Prepare to be amazed as amplification 

experts Fishman pack line array technology into a PA 

package that takes up the same space as the stands 

bag for a convention pub ‘n’ club size PA! 

45 LEFT HANDER VINTAGE ELECTRICS – Yes it’s true 

– left hander options have now increased significantly in 

the Vintage range of electrics! 

TECHNICAL 

30 KEVIN ASTON’S TECH TALK – Many people get seriously confused by the multi-coloured 

arrays of rotary control knobs laid out across a mixer’s interface. Fear not, it’s a logical 

process, as Gear boffin Kevin Aston talks you through a channel strip control functions 

on an Allen & Heath ZED22FX mixer. 

COMPETITIONS 

21 WIN... WIN... WIN... A cool Vintage V6 fitted with a brand new N-Tune onboard 

tuner! Be a one-man travelling summer festival with our ‘camp fire’ musical instruments 

package, all for the price of a stamp! And experience a sudden rush of febrile furtling 

as you rack the old’ brain in the crossword. You could bag you a Danelectro Cool Cat 

pedal board case filled with five Cool Cat effects pedals though – nice! 

12 

FEATURES 

28 

53 

Gear 23 11 2009 2002 

Whither goest thou, musician? 

Some astro-physicists reckon the 

universe is a continuously-expanding 

gigantic ‘horseshoe’ shape. Also that, as 

time must be essentially circular and 

not linear, so history never ends. Like, 

the 16th century is still happening, 

somewhere. Probably back in my old 

school, I’d reckon... Plus, it’s a fact 

that matter can neither be created or 

destroyed, so that could be true, but 

– I reckon music’s got a unique universal 

law to it as well – or maybe just ‘Keddie’s 

Law’, which states that, ‘...the further 

forward you go, the further back you travel’. 

How did I come by that? Well, there’s a 

lot of exciting new music happening at 

the moment, and it’s always good to 

enjoy the sound of the ‘Next Big Thing’ 

as it blasts out of your radio. 

But... in amongst my cases of (soon to 

be outmoded) CD’s I recently found an 

unplayed Best Of from an early 70’s 

‘softish’ Nashville-based country rock 

band, and thought, almost 40 years after 

the songs were written that I’d enjoy 

some ‘easy listening’ on the drive to work. 

And what did I hear? Brilliant songs, 

excellent high-quality musicianship (you 

know, the best kind that doesn’t try too 

hard), emotive lyrics sung with soaring 

harmonies and sharp guitar solos, all 

impressively produced. In two words, 

sheer class. I loved it! I’m going to buy 

all the band’s other back catalogue CD’s 

now. So where am I going – forward or 

back? Or is it, like the expanding universe, 

the same anyway in the end? Heck, if 

you enjoy it, then it counts. 

I smiled afterwards as I realised it was 

still good to have prejudices (I really really 

didn’t think I’d enjoy that CD) firmly 

overturned from time to time. What a 

force music is, so many levels it works 

on – the force is, indeed, strong! 

So in the face of the worst global economic 

situation since records (‘scuse the pun) 

began, we know there’s only one answer 

– enjoy this issue of Gear and let’s ROCK! 

Gibson Keddie 

® 

3

l Fret-King 

Corona HB 

Whether you own one of the superb new Fret-King guitars, or you're thinking of 

making a Fret-King purchase, or you just fancy chewing the fat with like-minded 

Fret-King fans, F-K distributor JHS has just opened a Fret-King Lounge at 

http://www.fret-king.com/forum.htm where you can make your opinions 

known via the Fret-King forum facility. 

So whether you own – or would like to own – one of the superb Blue Label Korean-manufactured 

guitars and basses, or one of the highly desirable Green Label instruments, assembled and 

finished for you by the Fret-King founder and all-round guitar supremo himself, Trev Wilkinson 

in his UK workshop, you can discuss all things Fret-King on the forum. 

Fret-King by Trev Wilkinson was born out of the desire to address a real need, expressed by many 

professional ‘journeyman’ guitar players, for an authentic build ‘working vintage guitar’, free of 

compromise and without having to pay homage to nostalgic and outmoded design 

criteria set many decades ago. Often referred to as a ‘Guru', a moniker which he tolerates 

rather than endorses, Trev Wilkinson clearly has the respect of his peers in the guitar 

building fraternity with an undisputed reputation as a designer and innovator with vast 

experience, style – and a serious playing edge. 

Get clicking and join in with the Fret-King community now! 

Whilst at the mega music show that is the Frankfurt Musik Messe, Gear arrived on the Jim Dunlop stand to be met by none other 

than effects pedal guru and all-round nice guy Jeorge Tripps. Now Director of Product Development with the mighty Dunlop company, 

Jeorge was keen to talk about his various projects past, present and future, with some very interesting guitar names being referred to 

by Jeorge as ‘work in progress’. Exciting stuff, hopefully we’ll have more details soon! 

We’ve looked at Jeorge’s amazing Way Huge pedals in the past couple of issues of Gear, and we love ‘em. They look fantastic and they 

sound even better, having been designed and built by a guy who really knows his stuff. They’re no ‘one minute to set up’ stomp boxes 

though – to get the best from the Way Huge pedals you have to spend some time with them and 

experiment with the variety of settings and parameters featured on each pedal. 

One point that Jeorge was delighted to make – a friend of his contacted him recently to ask Jeorge 

if he’d ever tried the Way Huge Pork Loin pedal with a bass – Jeorge replied that he actually hadn’t, 

and that the Way Huge units were designed primarily for guitar, but apparently the Pork Loin sounds 

fantastic with a bass too – the Pork Loin is designed to combine a clean sound with distortion 

and offers a really, er, huge (sorry) sound and it seems that applies to bass! 

If you’re a bass player who loves that kind of big, gritty sound, try some pork filling! 

Play guitar? Want to sound like an orchestra on your own? Here's how – buy a 

semi-acoustic 12 string and your sound will chime out with sweetness and light 

across the nation, with harmonics and sustain like you've never heard before. Even otherwise easily-alarmed old women 

and small children will nod and smile in admiration of your total musicality and understanding of harmonic creation... 

k 

VSA535-12 

Big semi-acoustics are certainly versatile guitars, with a connection right back to the early jazz guitars, though the 

slim-body versions offer a truly resonant and gutsy sound with a sweet acoustic tonality in there too. The new f-hole 

bodied Vintage VSA535-12 12-string offers the best of both worlds, without a doubt – offering the drop dead good 

looks of those era-defining 1950's/ 60’s guitars, the VSA535-12 is semi-acoustic in construction thanks to a 

solid central section of wood running along the middle of the body, firmly anchoring the twin tone-filled 

Wilkinson MWVC humbuckers and bridge assembly. 

True to the constructional tradition of this style of big semi, the VSA’s carefully arched front and back double 

edgebound body is a traditional maple laminate matched to a slim 22 fret maple neck with a smooth 

rosewood fingerboard, the neck set rigidly into the big body for maximum strength and stability 

– and just check out that vibrant 60’s style sunburst. 

Rock solid Tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece arrangement 

too, and traditional four-rotary control grouping – two volume, 

two tone, with 3-way pickup selector. 

A huge sound for a most non-huge price – £429.00, and that gets 

you the case as well. Bargain! 

4

Leeds-based UK MI distributor John Hornby Skewes & Co. Ltd. – recently appointed 

exclusive England, Scotland & Wales distributor for Allen & Heath's PA and ZED 

Series of small format mixers – has now also taken over sales and distribution 

of these product ranges in Northern Ireland and Eire. With JHS' mainland UK 

distribution of A&H already proving a great success, the company is looking forward 

to similarly servicing the needs of the burgeoning Irish pro audio market sector. 

"As predicted, Allen & Heath has proved to be a perfect complement to our other 

hi-end pro audio brands – HK Audio, LA Audio and LAB.Gruppen,” comments JHS 

MD, Dennis Drumm. "As such, adding Northern Ireland 

and Eire to our A&H sales territory is the perfect way 

to capitalise on our work with the brand. We look 

forward to generating similarly successful 

results with the additional expansion of 

these areas to the JHS sales map." 

A&H sales manager, Martin 

Daley adds: “The transfer of 

PA and ZED distribution 

to JHS has proved 

very successful 

and the sales 

teams have 

been enthusiastic 

and effective. 

Guitar player extraordinaire, Northern Ireland’s 

own Roy Fulton is a huge fan of both Vintage and 

Fret-King instruments. Roy’s a major force on 

YouTube having posted many excellent guitar 

demos – in addition he was one of the first 

guitarists to fully realise the potential of the 

most excellent Vintage V100MRPGM ‘Lemon Drop’ 

guitar and has made great use of the instrument 

since he took delivery of it, including posting 

some superb video demos on good ole yoochoob. 

“Since it was posted 10 months ago, my ‘Vintage 

Lemon Drop Part 1’ demo has clocked up over 

20,000 genuine youtube plays,” Roy informs us, 

adding, “Thanks to everyone for all your support!” 

If you want to check the demo, here’s the link – 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLYmkfeRJl4&f 

eature=channel_page 

We are certain the addition of Irish 

territory will only strengthen our relationship 

and build on our achievements so far.” 

Allen & Heath's PA Series comprises the PA-12CP and PA-20CP 

powered mixers with PA12, PA20 and PA28 stereo mixers, whilst the new USB-equipped 

ZED Series comprises the ZED-14 and ZED-24 2 bus mixers, ZED-12FX and ZED-22FX 

effects mixers, with ZED-420, ZED-428 and ZED-436 4-bus mixers. 

Roy also owns a nicely personalised Fret-King 

natural-finish Esprit 5 – you can find his ‘user 

assessment’ of the guitar in this issue on page 19. 

As mentioned in the editorial at the start of this magazine, the response to the competitions we set 

in the previous issue of Gear was nothing short of amazing. The prizes were pretty hot though – a rig 

reminiscent of something Mr Slash might use, with a simply gorgeous Vintage V100 guitar in Iced Tea 

matched to a Jim Dunlop signature Slash Wah pedal – except that this beauty was actually signed on the 

baseplate by the be-top hatted rock superstar himself! And where else are you going to find a pedal as 

special as that, eh? Eh? And that was the clue to the multiple choice question we set; Slash favours the 

Top Hat as his millinery of choice. 

So, ladiesngennelmun, a big hand 

for Kelvin Thomas over there in 

Pembrokeshire who is probably 

starting a Guns N’ Roses tribute 

band as we write this, given that 

he was the one who bagged the 

guitar and Slash pedal prizes! 

The SpongeBob Wordsearch in the same issue of Gear 

competition also proved hugely popular, with the chance to 

win a trick ‘SB goes punk’ electric guitar outfit and a super-neat 

SpongeBob-emblazoned junior drum kit. Rather fittingly, 11 year 

old Master C Mulvany’s entry got pulled out of the large box 

with all the entries in it, so well done to the young lad for that. 

More prizes to be won in this issue of course. 

Remember, Gear offers real prizes won by real people! 

On the Vintage, Fret-King and 

Encore booth at the famous annual 

NAMM music show held in Anaheim, 

California USA earlier this year, 

this rather unusually-attired person 

clomped onto the booth in what 

seemed like 14” high platforms. 

Didn’t say much, but seemed happy 

enough enough to try out a bass 

guitar or two. Not sure, but he does 

look kind of familiar – maybe it’ll 

come to me in a minute... 

5

Softapads> 

INTRODUCES JUNIOR DRUM 

Now that excessive noise has been elevated from not so much an ‘environmental 

nuisance’ to more of an ‘environmental crime’, drummers surely have much to thank 

progressive, forward-thinking companies like Softapads for. Especially those who practise 

at home and don’t want an eviction notice pinned to their front door by the local council. 

For anyone unaware of the Softapads products, they are effectively rubberised 

energy-absorption 'sandwiches' which are laid onto drum heads and cymbals, plus a 

square section for a bass drum beater pad. These pads offer 

impressive noise reduction levels of up to 90% when 

used as full circular lay-on on drum head sections 

and provide a true playing experience with 

accurate stick rebound etc. 

SJDP7 

SOFTAPADS 3 PIECE JUNIOR 

DRUM PRACTICE PADS – £19.99 

Pack Contents: 

2 X DAMPER RINGS TO COVER 8” TOM & 8” SNARE 

1 X 9.5” CYMBAL PAD 

1 X BASS DRUM PAD 

The new inexpensive Junior Drum Damper 

Sets from Softapads are circular rings of 

Softapads material (with an open centre) 

which when laid on to the drum heads will 

immediately cut overall kit volume down to 

sensible levels, whilst allowing the 

young drummer to play on the 

actual drum head surfaces. 

Semi-circular Softapad cymbal 

sections are also included in the 

Junior Practice Pad Sets, along with 

a bass drum beater pad. 

SJDP9 

SOFTAPADS 5 PIECE JUNIOR 

DRUM PRACTICE PADS – £24.99 

Pack Contents: 

4 x DAMPER RINGS TO COVER 8” TOM, 10” TOM, 

10” SNARE & 12” FLOOR TOM 

1 x 10” CYMBAL PAD, 1 x BASS DRUM PAD. 

Keep the peace with Softapads! 

Above: Softapads 3-piece Junior Drum Kit Practice 

Pads ready for action on a PP Drums SpongeBob 

SquarePants SBK100 Junior Drum Kit! £129.99 

NEW 

This entry level range of acoustics has been making some real headway over the past 

couple of years or so since its introduction with a range of natural and coloured 

dreadnought-sized available at an amazing £84.99 rrp each. 

l 

F200N 

£69.99rrp 

k 

F300N 

£84.99rrp 

k 

F300SB 

£84.99rrp 

But perhaps that dreadnought-sized body is a bit daunting 

for you or, hey, maybe you just don’t like that style and 

shape of guitar body... Fair enough, but we bet you won’t 

be able to resist these curvy cuties! 

The new Falcon F300 acoustic offers a parlour-esque size 

body, as embraced by folk players in particular who like 

to hear sweet acoustic accompaniment from smaller-bodied 

instruments. Same price as the dreadnoughts above and 

available in Natural or Sunburst finishes, the Falcon 

F300N and F300SB retail at £84.99 each. 

l 

FL34PK 

£44.99rrp 

Equally manageable is the Falcon F200N steel strung Folk 

guitar. Again, its student guitar format, i.e. a smaller, curved 

body, narrow waist design, means it’s an easy instrument on 

which to develop your playing skills. Available in Natural, 

it costs £69.99 rrp. 

And, for would-be younger guitarists who want a 

guitar to suit their size, and have no discernible 

gender issues, then there’s the Falcon 3/4 size 

Classic Guitar. In... pink, okay? Wanna make something 

of it? Fine, that’ll be £44.99 then, thank you. 

6

Great news for all SpongeBob SquarePants fans! With the junior electric and acoustic SpongeBob instruments already having been so successful 

– not to mention the superb SpongeBob-graphic plectrum packs! – the SpongeBob vibe has now extended to include full-size electric guitars, in 

these brill new SpongeBob electric outfits! Now you can have a full-size, classic shape, twin cutaway electric guitar with three single coil pickups, 

proper vintage-style fulcrum vibrato system, all the works, featuring amazing SpongeBob SquarePants graphics! AND, not only that but check 

the excellent BB Blaster 10 watt amp that comes with the outfit – it’s also decorated in the full SpongeBob regalia! How cool is this? Very cool! 

The new SpongeBob SquarePants Electric Guitar Outfit is available with a choice of SB guitar graphics in yellow or 

black, and also includes the SpongeBob covered 10 watt amp, carry bag, strap, guitar 

lead, plectrum, spare set of strings – and tuition DVD! Presented in a full colour 

SpongeBob graphic carton display pack, the new SpongeBob SquarePants Electric 

Guitar Outfit retails at £159.00, excellent value. 

SBEOFT-BLK 

Also available separately 

for only £44.99 rrp! 

SB-BB10 

SBEOFT-YL 

SBACOFT 

If you fancy joining in on the SpongeBob SquarePants craze, and 

you have an Encore E6 twin-cutaway Californian style electric guitar, 

then you can! And it’s so easy, because Facelift have just released 

two brand new SpongeBob-themed electric guitar overlays! 

Featuring all your favourite SpongeBob ‘Characters’ on one Facelift, 

or a pattern with various close-ups of SpongeBob’s ‘Eyes’, these new 

Facelifts are so easy to apply and transform the look of your guitar 

in seconds! At only £19.99 each, Facelift guitar body overlays are 

totally re-usable, and will fit other similar twin-cutaway guitar body 

shapes – and extra SpongeBob-style stickers are included too! 

SB-FLS2 

SB-FLS1 

Also joining the new range of more ‘grown up’ 

SpongeBob SquarePants Instruments is the new 

SpongeBob Acoustic Guitar Outfit. Based on an 

extremely user-friendly folk-sized acoustic guitar 

- which is positively swathed in full colour 

SpongeBob graphics across its top surface! 

– the SpongeBob Acoustic Guitar Outfit also 

includes a guitar carry bag, strap, yellow 

pick (of course), spare set of strings, pitch 

pipe for tuning duties and a tuition DVD, 

all presented in a full colour SpongeBob 

graphic-covered display carton. Buy this as 

a present for a young ‘un and be the coolest 

adult around! Only £89.99 rrp.

Sorry about the feature title, Mr McGarrett - 

don’t book us, it’s just there are eight great 

new ‘Laka’ ukuleles joining the Vintage 

range of instruments! Ba-ba ba-ba baaaa 

baaa, ba-ba ba-ba baaaaaa, etc. Aloha! 

The ukulele resurgence continues 

unabated, with bands like the superb 

Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain 

demonstrating very much the musical 

potential and serious musical side of the 

various versions of the ukulele, this new 

‘Laka’ series by Vintage is a collection of 

seriously pro-spec instruments, available in 

both acoustic and electro-acoustic formats. 

Adding extra value to this new Laka series 

of ukuleles from Vintage is the fact that, 

to aid instrument tonal resonance and 

response, the ukes are finished in a 

tone-friendly open pore satin finish. 

Additionally, the Laka ukuleles are fitted 

with premium grade Italian 

Aquila strings for maximum 

playing performance and an 

even, balanced sound. Finally, 

reinforcing the high-spec nature 

of these Lakas, the electroacoustic 

ukes are fitted with the 

uke-friendly USA-made Fishman 

Sonitone preamp systems, a 

soundhole-mounted style of unit 

which is totally unobtrusive both 

visually and physically. 

• VUS70 £99.00rrp 

VINTAGE VUS70 

SOPRANO UKULELE 

Effectively the ‘standard’ 

ukulele and the smallest 

bodied of 

the family, 

with the most 

recognisable uke tone, the 

soprano uke is the one on which 

most novices learn. The Laka 

Soprano Uke is an acoustic model 

which features a solid mahogany 

top, with laminated mahogany 

back and sides. A rosewood 

fingerboard carries 3mm ‘micro 

dot’ markers, and check the 

neat ‘rope binding’ rosette 

on all the Laka ukes including 

this soprano one. £99.00 rrp. 

• VUC70 £119.00rrp 

VINTAGE VUC70 

CONCERT UKULELE 

Physically slightly larger 

with a 15” scale length than 

the Soprano’s 13” scale, the Concert is also 

• VUC80E £179.00rrp 

referred to as an Alto ukulele, with 

a correspondingly bigger uke sound. 

The Laka Concert Uke is of an identical 

spec to the Soprano with a solid 

mahogany top matched to mahogany 

back and sides. £119.00 rrp. 

VINTAGE VUC80EA CONCERT 

CUTAWAY E/A UKULELE 

Again a Concert-sized instrument, 

this version greatly expands the 

versatility of the uke as an 

instrument. Here, the solid sitka 

spruce top is mated to koa 

back and 

sides for a 

different tonal 

variation from the 

instrument. Features Grover 

open gear tuners for improved 

tuning stability. The cutaway 

body offers improved upper fret 

access and being an electroacoustic, 

the VUC80EA is fitted 

with a Fishman Sonitone 

onboard preamp system. 

£179.00 rrp. 

VINTAGE VUT80EA 

TENOR CUTAWAY 

E/A UKULELE 

The Tenor uke is a 

larger bodied instrument 

than the Concert, 

and can sometimes be seen in a 

variation of string format 

layouts, with 6 and even 8 

string versions available. 

The cutaway-bodied Laka VUT80CE 

also offers a solid sitka spruce top, 

koa back and sides, Grover tuners 

and Fishman Sonitone system. 

£189.00 rrp. 

VINTAGE VUC90 

CONCERT UKULELE 

Boasting a solid koa top 

and laminated koa body 

with a mahogany/nato 

neck, the Groverequipped 

VUC90 is a 

Concert sized acoustic 

which retails at £179.00 rrp. 

• VUT80EA £189.00rrp 

• VUC90 £179.00rrp 

VINTAGE VUC90EA CONCERT 

CUTAWAY E/A UKULELE 

The same solid koa top/koa 

laminate body construction, this 

time in a cutaway body format, 

with Fishman Sonitone preamp. 

£189.00 rrp. 

• VUT90 £189.00rrp 

VINTAGE VUT90 

TENOR UKULELE 

Solid koa top, 

laminate koa 

back and sides, 

the big-toned 

acoustic Tenor-size 

uke also retails at 

£189.00. 

VINTAGE VUT90EA 

TENOR CUTAWAY 

E/A UKULELE 

The top of the 

range Laka uke 

features a solid koa 

top, with laminate koa 

back and sides, cutaway 

body, Grover tuners and 

Fishman Sonitone preamp. 

£209.00 rrp. 

• VUT90EA £209.00rrp • VUC90EA £189.00rrp 

FISHMAN SONITONE 

Designed to meet the needs of Laka 

ukuleles, the new Fishman Sonitone 

onboard preamp system features a 

concealed soundhole-mounted preamp 

with rotary controls for Volume and 

Tone. The Fishman Sonicore pickup 

comes standard providing solder-free 

maintenance, with combination 

battery box and 

output jack. 

8

PAUL WITH 

One of the most successful recent get-togethers in rock music's 

'premier league' simply has to be that of legendary frontman Paul 

Rodgers, joining forces with the remaining active members of Queen. 

With a recent international charting album of original material out, The Cosmos Rocks, 

celebrating the creative union of two of the most distinctive-sounding acts of the past 

four decades, Queen + Paul Rodgers first announced they would be playing together back in 

2005. A simultaneous UK and European tour sold out almost as soon as it was announced. 

Obviously, only a seriously impressive vocal talent could live up to the reputation of the 

late Freddie Mercury, but as Brian May pointed out early in 2008, “Paul Rodgers was a hero 

of Freddie’s – and still is for Roger and me.” 

Paul's unmistakable voice, combined with years of stadium-headlining experience means 

he's a consummate frontman, who had no problems slotting into the ‘stage front’ gig with 

Queen. Nor did May and Taylor let Rodgers down performing trademark hits such as All 

Right Now, Feel Like Making Love, Can’t Get Enough and Bad Company. Perhaps that's just 

as well, given that a recent gig in the Ukraine saw an estimated 345,000 fans turn up for 

the concert... 

Not one for letting the metaphorical grass grow under his feet, alongside Paul's busy tour 

schedule with Queen, he also continues to record and tour as a solo artist. His latest DVD, 

Live In Glasgow has already gone gold having charted at #1 in Canada, #3 in the US on the 

Neilsen Soundscan Charts and #4 in the UK. The DVD included new songs and hits written 

with his various bands, Free, Bad Company and The Firm with Led Zeppelin guitarist, Jimmy Page who reckons, “Paul Rodgers has been, and 

still is by far, one of the finest talents of our musical genre.” 

Whichever show or act you catch Paul with, you'll see him onstage during 

the set making the most of his redoubtable Rhythm Tech Pro tambourines, 

using his signature move of playing two tambourines in one hand. 

"The Rhythm Tech Tambourine is a real instrument," says Paul. "It's amazingly 

robust and the design enables you to perform a lot of rhythms and 

counter-rhythms. My artist wife Cynthia customises 

each one by hand painting them, which adds 

to their uniqueness for me." 

The re-designed and updated ergonomics of the 

Pro version of Rhythm Tech’s iconic Crescent tambourine offers a choice 

of either brass jingles or stainless steel jingles, in a choice of two-tone colour schemes, costing £54.99. 

Available with either nickel steel jingles (£34.99) or polished brass jingles (£36.99), the one that started the 

revolution, the legendary Rhythm Tech Crescent tambourine is available in a variety of colours. 

With a comprehensive selection of music instrument stores providing 

the data, the recent retail survey figures published by UK music 

industry trade magazine, MI Pro makes for interesting reading as to what's 

happening on the high street from a musical instrument perspective. 

In a keenly-fought sector, the JHS Odyssey brand came out top in Brass 

& Woodwind, with the overall quality of the Odyssey range being cited as 

one of the prime reasons for selection. The competitively-priced 

JHS Odyssey 'Debut' brass and woodwind range 

includes a number of 

elegantly-presented 

outfits, including 

Clarinet, Flute, 

COUNTER-RHYTHM 

Saxophones, Trumpet and the Cornet. The brass instruments are 

personally commended by leading UK cornet player, Alan Morrison, 

now Musical Director with the world-famous Brighouse & Rastrick 

Brass Band, who describes the overall range thus: "These entry 

level Odyssey instruments play well, are terrific value for 

money and ideal for the first time player." 

Odyssey 'Debut' Wind Outfits are supplied with 

a dedicated plush-lined, snug-fitting ABS case 

plus related cleaning and maintenance 

accessories with instruction leaflet, whilst 

a comprehensive range of Odyssey care 

kits and accessories is also available. 

Paul Rodgers at London’s Hyde Park, Queen + Paul 

Rodgers perform for Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday 

playing his distinctive customised Rhythm Tech 

tambourines. 

JHS ODYSSEY BRASSWIND COMES TOP 

IN MI PRO RETAIL SURVEY CATEGORY 

More info and prices at... 

http://www.jhs.co.uk/odyssey.html 

9

Ah, this we like - finding out 

what we’re going to be wanting 

to stomp all over in the coming 

year, as presented to us by our 

friends at legendary effects and 

accessories manufacturer, Jim Dunlop. 

your sound, taking any too-pronounced 

‘top’ off your guitar sound whilst bringing 

up any excess lower range too. What that 

effectively does is to ‘squeeze’ your dynamic 

range, which also consequently adds a more 

even sustain to your sound, making it all 

sound like it does on a studio recording, 

see? And an impressively pro guitar tone 

is the end result. 

MXR CUSTOM SHOP ‘76 

VINTAGE DYNA COMP 

And it’s starting off in fine style. Following 

on from the fabulous sound of 2008’s 

as-faithful-as-it-can-get re-issue of the 

legendary ‘74 MXR Custom Shop Phase 90 

(effectively the ‘definitive’ year for this 

unit), well, now we have the equally 

definitive Custom Shop MXR ‘76 Vintage 

Dyna Comp! Hooray! 

See, the so-far hidden secret to getting 

that nicely-controlled sound that pro players 

seem to get in the studio or live on stage, is 

to use a compressor. As ever, studio versions 

are like ‘blimey-how-much?’ x 10 expensive, 

and anyway a stomp box version is far more 

practical, too. But it’s got to be a high quality 

unit and perform as efficiently and quietly as 

possible, but what it’ll do is to smooth out 

10 

‘compression bliss’ 

Okay, so the MXR Dyna Comp that was 

produced back in 1976 (we had a very hot 

summer that year, remember...?) has long 

been regarded as the ultimate stomp box 

compressor. There was something 

inherently musical about the way it 

tightened up a guitar signal, raising the 

volume of quiet notes and levelling off 

peaks to create rich, full-bodied sustain 

as described above. And now, the MXR 

Custom Shop brings back that highly 

sought-after sound with the CSP028 

’76 Vintage Dyna Comp. Meticulously 

researched and superbly crafted, it 

features the exact same circuitry used 

in the original 1976 Dyna Comp, identical 

in its component layout, silkscreen 

and handmade wire harness! The key 

component is the old school CA3080 

‘metal can’ integrated circuit (IC) 

which yields quieter operation, greater 

transparency and increased dynamic 

range. These IC’s have been out of 

production since the 80’s, but MXR has 

• CSP-028 MXR Custom Shop ‘76 Vintage Dyna Comp 

tracked down a stash of them - enough 

to produce a limited run of these little 

red boxes of compression bliss. With 

supplies limited, the MXR ‘76 Vintage 

Dyna Comp is destined to quickly become as 

ultra-collectable as its noble ancestor...grab 

one while you can. £289.00 rrp. 

MXR BASS OCTAVE DELUXE 

The M288 Bass Octave Deluxe is a dual-voice 

octave pedal from MXR Bass Innovations 

that offers organic analogue tone, true 

bypass, and a wide variety of tone-shaping 

options. Powered by a single 9v battery, 

MXR’s Constant Headroom Technology (CHT) 

provides studio-performance headroom and 

superior tracking. Use the Dry knob to mix 

your direct bass signal with the octave 

effect, or hit the Mid+ switch to add up to 

+15dB of internally adjustable low-mid 

punch (400Hz) or midrange ‘pop’ (800Hz). 

Bass players will love the two separately 

processed and individually voiced octave 

controls - Growl (for throaty, midrange 

octave-below tone) and Girth (for deep and 

smooth octave below). £239.00 rrp. 

CUSTOM AUDIO 

ELECTRONICS WAH 

THE MC-404 CAE Wah was developed by 

Bob Bradshaw of Custom Audio Electronics 

and the Crybaby design team with the goal 

of creating a highly versatile wah-wah of 

top-grade components. It features dual Fasel 

inductors with two distinct voices (high end 

emphasis or low to mid resonance) and a 

built-in MXR MC-401 Boost/Line Driver 

adds even more flexibility. Choose between 

inductors and turn the boost on or off with 

the side-mounted kickswitches: bright LEDs 

on each side of the wah indicate operational 

status. The MC-404 boasts true hardwire 

bypass, a long-life CTS potentiometer, and 

internal pots for ‘Q’ and gain adjustments - 

high performance and quality that you can 

only expect from Dunlop, the world leader 

in wah-wah technology! £289.00 rrp. 

• MC404 CEA Wah 

• M288 Bass Octave Deluxe

Kustom 

Sport Coupe 

Recently, amp 

‘fashion’ has definitely 

been moving towards lower 

output, tone-filled Class A valve 

combos. And rightly so, because smaller 

combos are extremely convenient items to 

use - practising at home, at rehearsal, in 

the studio and at gigs 

too. Lower rated valve 

amps are still 

incredibly loud 

given their more 

diminutive stature, 

and you can always DI 

out or mic ‘em up into 

the PA for bigger gigs. And 

they just look so cute - like the 

new Kustom Sport Coupe, for 

instance. The Coupe Series has 

earned a reputation for sizzling hot 

south-of-the-border tones, and the 

Sport Coupe takes the features of its big 

brothers and condenses them into an 18 

watt tone monster. The Sport Coupe combo 

starts with a premium Baltic birch cabinet to 

give it superior resonance, and from there an 

18 watt, self-biased Class A amplifier 

utilising a single 6L6 valve in the power amp 

forms the heart of the amp. 

A Master Volume lets your tone sing through 

the 10” KEI Kustom/Eminence speaker at 

any volume level, and the Sport 

Coupe is an ideal amp for gigging, 

because not only is power amp 

distortion attainable at userfriendly 

volume levels, but an 

XLR Direct Out with speaker emulation 

keeps the tone intact6 at 

bigger gigs too. A footswitch is 

included for switching channels 

between rhythm and lead and for activating 

the onboard tremolo and or vibrato. 

20kg’s of solid tone, the Sport Coupe retails 

at £999.00. 

Kustom Celestion-Loaded 

Extension Speaker Cabinets 

If you want to add more presence to your 

onstage sound from your Coupe combo, you 

could try adding one of the new extension 

speaker cabinets from Kustom. Designed to 

match the Coupe’s looks, these cabinets, 

available in 1 x 12” and 2 x 12” formats 

are crafted from a single sheet of the finest 

Baltic birch to ensure big, rich tonal qualities. 

The Coupe 112V30 (£549.00) and 212V30 

(£699.00) extension cabs are loaded 

with the all-time classic guitar 

speaker, Celestion Vintage 30’s. 

Looking very smart 

with chrome metal 

corner protectors 

and top carry strap, 

the 112 cab is rated 

at 75 watts, with the 

212 at 150 watts - 

add an extension cab 

and spread your sound around! 

A 

nother great thing about Kustom 

is that these boys take their bass 

equipment very seriously! And so, 

alongside the existing heavy duty Groove 

Bass range - including the awesome KBG1300 

1,200 watt bass head and powerful 600w 

combos - we also have the Deep End series. 

Deep End bass amplification combines the 

sweet sound of punchy valve amp tones with 

the robust articulation of solid state power 

amp design. Utilising a 12AX7 preamp in 

tandem with a Tube (valve) Gain control, 

bass players can drive the valve 

preamp get natural-sounding 

valve-based overload, from 

funky clean to downright 

mean! 

Deep End DE100-115 

+ DE100-210 100 

Watt Bass Combos 

Available in a 

choice of either 1 

x 15” or 2 x 10” 

speaker formats, at 

£449.00 each. Deep 

End amplification, 

including these combos, offer additional 

features such as Organic Clipping, which 

provides that distinctive power amp ‘growl’ 

that bass players know and love. This features 

also removes the need for a power amp limiter 

as the louder the amp gets, the more it 

pushes into distortion sonically. 

A castor-equipped 1 x 15” extension cab 

rated at 250 watts is available to complement 

62 

the sound of these Deep End 

combos, priced £269.00. 

Deep End DE200-115 

200 Watt Bass Combo 

Offering 200 watts of 

power, the DE200-115 

provides a perfect 

mixture of tonality, 

features and style 

through an Eminence 

speaker and switchable 

horn, at £599.00 rrp. 

A 200 watt, 2 x 10” extension 

cab is also available, at 

£229.00 rrp. 

Deep End 

DE300HD 300 

Watt Bass Head 

With its 12AX7 

valve-based preamp 

adding valve 

colouration to a 

300 watts output, this 

is one powerful and punchy-sounding bass 

amp head. Alongside Organic Clipping, 

another great feature on the DE300HD amp 

is the ‘Room EQ’ facility. Working in conjunction 

with the standard onboard 3-band EQ, Room 

EQ offers High Contour and Low Contour 

options, to help counter the most common 

problems bassists face at differing venues. 

High Contour can help reduce ear-splitting 

trebles whilst Low Contour provides additional 

low-end note definition in 

larger, ‘boomy’ rooms. £369.00 rrp. 

Designed to complement the DE300HD head, 

we have the DE410H speaker cabinet. With 4 

x 10” Deep End speakers and a high frequency 

piezo horn capable of handling 400 watts, 

the DE410H cab retails at £329.00. Good 

bass rig, and then some! 

Deep End DE50 Bass Combo 

If you don’t need lots of gigging power, 

rather a combo that’ll cope with practice and 

rehearsal and recording, then the 50 watts of 

the DE50 has a lot to offer you. Again using 

the 12AX7-based preamp with the Organic 

Clipping facility, the DE50 is an impressively 

equipped, tone-filled combo, with a balanced 

DI out, headphone jack and auxiliary input 

for CD and mp3 players, plus an external 

speaker jack. £329.00 rrp. 

11 

3

PA’s, whether large or small, conventionally have always tended towards a traditionally symmetrical 

‘stereo’ layout to them. Now though Fishman’s innovative line array-based SoloAmp makes a good 

case for a re-write of the PA rulebook, reckons Brian Barnes. 

‘Because the hardest thing a performer should have to carry is a 

tune’ is how Fishman themselves advertise their intriguing new 

SoloAmp PA system. Well, we like the sound of that already. 

Aimed primarily at the performing singer/songwriter, SoloAmp 

is intended to provide ‘exceptional sound quality and coverage’, 

thanks to its stated ability to pump out 220 watts of clean 

power via a vertical line array of six custom high-excursion 

speakers and soft-dome tweeter. Radical... 

So why have we tended to accept over the years that in club 

and pub-sized gigs, the twin speaker column PA set-up is best? 

Well, this is effectively an optimum way of spreading the FOH sound 

screen at most gigs in a balanced output format for us two-eared, 

stereo-detecting humans. Mostly though, live gigs feature mainly 

mono sound going into two output channels, but the twin speaker 

layout still works well in providing optimal sonic coverage. So you 

might look at the SoloAmp set-up and think, ‘where’s the other 

column then?’ perhaps followed by ‘where’s the amp and mixer?’... 

Obviously there are many more conventional styles of 

acoustic amplifiers available on the market, including 

Fishman’s own excellent Loudbox, offering full range 

reproduction with facilities for vocal input as well as 

an instrument. However, these are more often than 

not floor-mounted units, even though in the case of 

the Loudbox they are in a monitor wedge style format 

with the sound projecting forwards and upwards. 

However, this can only ever offer limited audience 

coverage unless the sound is also fed into a dedicated 

accompanying PA, which is a significant additional 

cost factor – and a lot more to carry in to the gig. 

Commendably, Fishman have looked at these problems 

with a more ‘wide-screen’ approach. With the SoloAmp, 

Fishman have opted to utilise state-of-the-art line 

array technology, notable by its distinctive ‘vertical 

tower’ speaker arrangement designed, say Fishman, to 

‘With the SoloAmp, Fishman have opted to utilise 

state-of-the-art line array technology’ 

When confronted with the Fishman SoloAmp for the first time, 

especially if you haven’t really considered what it might physically 

look like, there are a number of surprises in store for you where your 

brain might have to have its ‘reset’ button pressed. 

You might also have heard that the SoloAmp focusses heavily on 

the use of ‘new technology’, and so maybe you’re expecting some 

crazily mad futuristic-looking box of techno-tricks. If that’s the case, 

then that first look at Fishman’s SoloAmp will leave you seriously 

impressed by how elegant, stylish and 

compact it all looks – minimalist and 

‘futuristic’ too, even – and how 

well engineered the unit is. 

provide ‘... exceptional sound quality and coverage’ with 

its compact line array set-up. 

SOLOAMP SPECIFICATION 

Okay, so that’s a brief intro, and we’ll check out how it all 

performs in a paragraph or two, but what sort of specification 

is involved? Well, as stated, the SoloAmp is designed to 

pump out a healthy 220 watts RMS; behind that 

chunky protective perforated metal front 

grille are no less than six vertically-stacked 

4” mid-woofers pushing out 200 watts 

via a servo power amp, with a single 

1” neodymium soft dome tweeter 

adding the remaining 20 

watts. The internal 

servo power amp 

eliminates the 

need for any 

additional bass-boosting subwoofer, and the enclosed tower also 

includes all the related electronics, amplifier and controls for the system, 

greatly increasing the portability and convenience of the SoloAmp. 

Better still, much of the technology used in the SoloAmp comes 

from already having proved itself in their Loudbox units. 

So, it’s a two-channel, full-range system where, on 

the impressively user-friendly recessed front control 

panel, both mic/instrument channels feature 

both balanced XLR and unbalanced standard jack 

inputs. Switchable 48v phantom power is available 

for each channel alongside independant 10dB input 

gain pad push switches. Each channel has its own 

column of 3-band EQ rotaries, with the input Gain rotary 

and accompanying clip warning LEDs. Four selectable levels 

12

of onboard reverbs are available, again with a level control rotary 

assigned to each channel, with anti-feedback phase and notch 

filters all helping too. The top row of controls, left to right, is 

Master Volume, then a mute switch for silent set-breaks, etc; 

next along, an Aux In level control, with a useful Monitor In/Out 

control located on the far right. 

‘There’s real punch lurking in this 

line array, make no mistake’ 

Whilst on the subject of control panels, the rear panel is equally 

logical and user-friendly. Effects Send and Return jacks, with 

two-channel pre-DI balanced XLR outs as a feed to a house PA, 

or a recording desk. An Aux Input socket lets you plug in a CD player 

(remember them?), iPod and so on, whilst Monitor In and Out offers 

a unique interconnection facility with another SoloAmp, or Loudbox. 

The lower control row features a dedicated Tuner Out fed from 

Channel 1, then level attenuation for the Tweeter feed; a footswitch 

send for remote Mute control, then a balance mix DI XLR out. 

Finally, a power switch and IEC mains connection. 

IN USE 

With the SoloAmp weighing in at a miniscule 25lbs, portability is 

an absolute breeze. With the speaker and single tripod stand together, 

that’s about 35lbs in the padded carry bag (equipped with castor 

wheels) – about the size of a normal stands bag! 

Walk the bag into the gig, unpack, assemble the speaker cab onto 

the stand, plug in... and that’s less than a minute... And you can gig 

SoloAmp anywhere in the world, thanks to the fully-digital universal 

power system. 

SoloAmp is designed to be placed behind the performer, probably 

slightly to one side – that’s how I used it, as it was physically easier 

to turn round and perform any quick adjustments between songs, 

rather than have it directly behind you. Also, this negates the need 

for a monitor – the projection of sound, with an ultra-wide dispersion 

pattern from the six speakers means that the performer and audience 

hear exactly the same sound. And an impressive sound it is too, with 

a quite amazing depth and clarity. The individually-assignable channel 

reverbs are a real boon too, as guitar and vocal often require fairly 

different ambient reverb levels, and the SoloAmp’s reverbs are more 

than capable of coping with any individual reverb requirements. 

Plugging in a pre-recorded CD or mp3 source is one way of discovering 

just how effective the enhanced bass response of the custom–designed 

speakers is in terms of bass and drums ability – there’s real punch 

lurking in this line array, make no mistake. The wide and even 

dispersion of sound from the SoloAmp tower generally means that 

feedback problems are almost non-existent in general venue use, and 

the optimum tower height is ideal for the majority of venues, even 

those with notoriously low ceilings. 

system, allowing them to hear 

what the other player is doing 

through their own system, 

with the option of direct 

feeds to larger house/show 

PAs all being kept under user 

control – a very flexible 

approach. 

CONCLUSION 

Given the limited stage space (hah!) 

available at most venues where 

singer/songwriters can perform, 

SoloAmp’s minimal physical 

presence and low-viz attitude 

are a real boon. It’s particularly 

versatile too and makes a very 

effective individual personal monitor 

if you’re going through a larger PA 

at a big show for instance, allowing 

you to maintain the integrity of 

your own live sound. Duos who 

perhaps choose to use a SoloAmp 

each, for instance, can make use 

of the monitor feed input/output 

Everyone knows that 

high-quality acoustic-based 

amplification costs money, 

and that’s true of the 

SoloAmp with its £1,249.00 

price tag, though if you’re 

using an electro that cost 

£2 – £3K, you certainly 

wouldn’t want its live sound to be compromised through an inferior 

system. One thing’s for sure, the SoloAmp’s performance, innovative 

technology and high level of specification – all of which are real-world 

user relevant – won’t ever leave you feeling short-changed. 

Best to make yourself aware of how to deal with any 

unexpected feedback problems before gigging though 

– SoloAmp’s sweepable notch filter and Phase reverse 

can easily resolve any probs with unwanted resonance. 

SPEC CHECK 

• 220w RMS output 

• Two mic/instrument input channels with 

3-band EQ, phantom power and high quality preamps. 

• Compact line array design with 6 x 4” drivers + 1 x 1” 

neodymium soft dome tweeter. 

• Ultra-wide horizontal sound dispersion. 

• Fully digital (Class D) power amp design 

with universal power operates anywhere in the world. 

• Dimensions: 41.5”/105.5cm H x 5.6”/14.2cm W x 6.6”/ 16.7cm D 

Weight 25lbs / 11.34kg; complete system 35 lbs/ 15.7kg 

13

Have you heard Imelda May’s driving rockabilly romp, ‘Johnny Got A Boom Boom’ 

rockin’ away like billy-o on the radio? And with that brill slap bass intro and breaks, 

how could you resist? Gear meets boppin’ bassist, Al Gare. 

So you hear ‘Johnny Got A Boom Boom’ and you’re thinking, ‘Wow – that bass player sure knows how to belt 

it out on the big bass...!’, on what is as fine a slice of quiff-drenched, winklepicker-tappin’ rockabilly as 

you’re likely to hear. And the guy who knows absolutely does know how to belt it out on the bass is a 

certain Al Gare. So, when Al called up JHS recently asking about getting himself a totally cool Danelectro ‘63 

bass, we were delighted to invite him in and fix him up. 

The late 80's saw Al cut his bassin’ teeth with Sgt Bilko’s Crazy Combo, following which he spent the ‘90s touring the 

world, recording, and making TV and radio appearances with acclaimed rhythm and blues band, King Pleasure & The 

Biscuit Boys. After performing with them on over 1,500 occasions and recording several studio and live albums, he 

finally called it a day and decided to go freelance in February 2001. 

Al's travels have since taken him from the West Coast of the States to the northern tip of Russia, playing most 

major cities in Europe and headlining top festivals at home and abroad. Trips to America have included a 

university tour of New York state, Dan Ackroyd's House of Blues Club in Boston, The Brown Derby in 

Hollywood, shows in San Jose, San Francisco 

and Scottsdale, Arizona. 

Trashy! 

Frequent tours of central Europe have seen him playing hundreds of gigs at all the major venues and festivals, 

whilst back home Al has performed virtually everywhere in the British Isles. Highlights have been hometown gigs 

at the Symphony Hall, (support to BB King), The Alexandra Theatre (support act to the late Cab Calloway), the 

NEC main arena and the Royal Albert Hall in London, Ronnie Scott's clubs in London and Birmingham, plus regular 

appearances at top London venues such as the 100 Club, Mean Fiddler, the Dublin Castle and the Jazz Cafe. 

Al is also the bass player with bands such as Palookaville, with their unique brand of trashy good-time rock ‘n’ roll 

instrumentals, along with The Giant Killers and Basehart. A brief stint with Internationally-known British blues band, 

The Nightporters was followed by Al finally settling into the wonderful Imelda May Band and the equally-brilliant 

long-time rockers outfit, the Mike Sanchez Band, led by the inimitable Mr Sanchez himself. More recently, Al’s been 

recording with highly-acclaimed Sheffield-based singer/guitarist Richard Hawley, Mike Sanchez of course and, as 

we’ve heard, he’s all over Imelda May’s best-selling new album, Love Tattoo, which saw Imelda and band being 

featured big style on the Jools Holland ‘Later’ TV show, which springboarded Imelda into the public spotlight. 

Gear says, keep rockin’ it, Al! 

"I love this reissue. This bass has a lot more clarity than other reissues that I've played, the two lipstick 

pickups have more depth, attack and aggression than even the original! The good people at Danelectro 

again haven't faultered on keeping to the original design either from the pickguard to the 63 pro/'coke 

bottle' style headstock. 'Rockin' out' to 'Tic-Tac', this is a great gigging guitar!" – Al Gare 

‘The V1004 looks great 

feels great and supplies 

me with an endless source 

of tasty tones!’ – Andy 

Newest additions to the Vintage® guitar endorsee 

stable, FADO ROCK, were visitors at the JHS 

showroom and distribution centre in Garforth 

recently. 

An original hard rock band from Hull, Fado 

Rock pride themselves on playing 

powerful, tight and exciting 

live shows. Drawing on 

influences from the blues 

and classic /heavy rock 

genres, their music is 

a mixture of riffs, solos 

and quality tunes. 

The band were bowled 

over by the quality 

and playability 

of the entire 

Vintage range, 

with guitarist 

Spike plumping 

for the V6MRBK 

Icon guitar, and 

bassist Andy hooked 

by the V10004SP. 

Even singer Mr Bob 

treated himself to a 

TC200BD for songwriting. 

FADO ROCK are looking build upon the success of their 

latest release "Six Foot South" with more touring in the UK 

and Europe next year. 

www.myspace.com/fadorock 

14

It’s the future... SNAP JACK instrument cables. Lots of brilliant 

new products coming out of the Snap Jack stable – here’s what’s 

happening from the ZZYZX company who manufacture the unique 

range of Snap Jack cables! 

In today’s guitar world, with so many instrument cables on the 

market, it’s hard to justify another offering – unless it’s something 

innovative and extraordinary. The ZZYZX Snap Jack definitely falls 

into those categories. With a system based on Magnetic Precision 

Technology, this has brought ZZYZX multiple industry awards and 

overwhelming accreditation. 

The patented Snap Jack guitar cable offers an ingenious solution 

to guitarists and bassists in reducing the risk of damage to their 

equipment, in addition to eliminating any undesirable popping 

or squeals by using a precision magnetic design that allows the 

jack to detach from the cable only when it is subjected to excess 

tension. The jack detaches without making any of the unwanted 

noises normally encountered when unplugging or plugging into 

an amp. By utilising the extra tips, guitarists are able to switch 

multiple guitars onstage effortlessly and in silence. 

Snap Jack cables provides the sound quality of a premium cable 

and its rugged design can withstand years of inadvertent mishaps. 

The jack tip detaches with just the right amount of pressure that 

makes it easy to switch instruments but difficult to unplug 

accidentally – ideal! 

ZZYZX has successfully established the Snap Jack concept 

over the past 2 years and has now introduced more fabulous 

new Snap Jack products to the line. 

Snap Jack Wireless System Cable 

Designed for players using wireless systems but who want a pro 

quality Snap Jack between their instrument and the transmitter. 

This cable offers the same quality construction as the Snap Jack 

cables. Now wireless players can take advantage of the silent, quick 

and easy swap of instruments when using the Snap Jack cables. 

These cables are built for superior signal integrity that many of 

today’s advanced musicians and touring professionals demand. 

The Snap Jack wireless cable is available to fit most major 

professional wireless systems. 

Available in: 3-pin (TA3F) SNP140 £39.99, 4-pin (TA4F) SNP141 

£26.99 and 1/8”connector SNP142 £26.99. 

Standard Series Snap Jack Locking System 

Perfect for more aggressive players who are concerned about any 

unwanted detachment while performing live, but still needs the 

ability to switch guitars effortlessly. By sliding the locking sleeve, 

you can easily lock or unlock any standard series Snap Jack cable. 

Model no: SNP170 £12.99. 

ZZYZX XLR with I.D. Tag 

Both ends of this XLR cable have ID tag dial. These numbers are used 

to match the numbers on input boxes on most stage applications. 

This replaces the classic type and marker to identify the cables. 

By rotating the ID tag dial, you can change the number on the cable 

for easy identification in most stage applications. Available in 15ft 

SNP120-15 £26.99, 25ft SNP121-25 £32.99, 35ft SNP122-35 

£36.99, and 50ft cable lengths SNP123-50 £44.99. 

ZZYZX BlackJack with silencer 

BlackJack cables have a built-in silencer that eliminates any annoying 

pop or hum noise while plugging in or unplugging your instrument. 

No button to push! Available in straight jack 15ft ZZCS-15 £26.99, 

25ft ZZCS-25 £32.99, 30ft ZZCS-30 £36.99, 35ft ZZCS-35 £39.99 

cable lengths and angled jack versions 15ft ZZCA-15 £26.99, 25ft 

ZZCA-25 £32.99, 30ft ZZCA-30 £36.99 and 35ft ZZCA-35 £39.99. 

Snap Jack Pedal Board Series 

The pedal board series is designed to allow players to easily 

and silently change or bypass any pedal configuration. By simply 

turning the barrel, you can release any tension or tangle in the 

cable and it will lay flat. The pedal board series will reduce the 

loss of high-end tone, and volume you may lose when chaining 

multiple effect pedals together. Available in 6in SNP190-6 

£26.99, 12in SNP191-12 £27.99, and 18in cable length 

SNP192-18 £28.99. 

ZZYZX Solderless Pedal Board kits 

Same concept as the Snap Jack Pedal Board series. 

Take advantage of the kits to customise your own length 

of cable. Makes changing the route of your pedals effortless 

and with no annoying hums and pops. Supplied with 10ft 

of OFC cable and 10 angled tips. Model no: SNP193 £89.99. 

?? 

15

As ever, some exciting new signature sticks from stick specialists Regal Tip coming your way in 

2009. Regal Tip have a highly interactive and developed artiste roster and are additionally the 

featured ‘stick of choice’ for drummers who get themselves involved in the ‘Guitar Hero® World 

Tour’ mega musical computer game! 

We’re starting with a fairly subtle addition to the new range, however – the Regal Tip Yellow Jacket Brush, 

which features a durable rubber handle with a patented adjustable wire spread. Available as a telescoping brush 

with Regal Tip’s notched pull handle at £20.99 rrp, or as a compact throw brush at £19.99 rrp. 

575YJTHROW – Yellow Jacket Throw Brushes 

Both Regal Tip Yellow Jacket brush pairs come attractively packaged in clear 

custom-sized storage tubes, and are ideal for beginners and pros alike. 

Anyone with even half an interest in the drumming world will know of Keith Carlock. A seasoned performer 

and regular Modern Drummer awards poll winner, Keith’s career CV reads like a musical ‘Who’s Who’; Sting 

(loads of videos of Keith playing in Sting’s band on YouTube); Steely Dan (Keith’s out on the road with them 

again this coming summer..(hopefully ‘summer’ will more of a reality than a concept this year); that’s after he 

performs an April through May stint in the USA with the legendary James Taylor, of course... other names 

Keith is working with at the moment include Walter Becker on his solo ‘Circus Money’ recordings; Sean 

Wayland's ‘Pistachio’; pop singer/songwriter Lynne Timmes' debut CD, ‘Human’; guitar great Oz Noy's second 

studio record, ‘Fuzzy’; bass prodigy 

Tal Wilkenfeld's ‘Transformations’, 

and jazz fusion guitarist Wayne Krantz on ‘Your Basic Live 

'06’ – and Carlock’s own band Rudder with their new self-titled CD! Whew. 

PFKC – Keith Carlock Performer Series 

“I am humbled and very happy to announce that Regal Tip has just launched my signature ‘Keith Carlock’ stick,” quotes Keith on his website. 

“It’s been an exciting project to work on with them, and I feel we have made the perfect stick! It’s similar in some ways to the 8A I played 

for years, but we took some of the weight off the top and put it in the butt end of the stick, made the taper and bead slightly different 

which gives the stick a lot more natural bounce and great cymbal sound.” 

Keith also finds time to slot in a regular diet of international clinics, and gigs with Oz Noy – and hopes to have his tuition DVD out later in 

the year... does this man never sleep? Keith’s signature Regal Tip sticks will set you back £11.99 rrp. 

Another drummer with an impressive playing pedigree, Walfredo Reyes Jr. can count Carlos Santana, Steve 

Winwood, Jackson Browne, Gloria Estefan, Christina Aguilera and Smokey Robinson amongst his client list. 

An amazingly dynamic performer, Walfredo is perhaps best known for his unique blending of the most vibrant 

rhythmic styles such as Latin, Afro Cuban and 

World Percussion with the drum set – put 

simply, Walfredo is a drummer and 

PFWRK – Walfredo Reyes Jr. Performer Series 

full-on percussionist in one! 

Based in Los Angeles, Walfredo’s musical multi-tasking, besides being an exceptionally in-demand session 

player, includes production, composition and education work. 

Walfredo’s ‘El Rockero’ signature Regal Tip sticks are based around a 5B, and feel good and solid with a short 

taper running onto an oval bead – not surprising considering the amount of work they have to do! 

Walfredo’s El Rockero sticks retail at £11.99. 

?? 16 

A well known drumming force in hard rock and metal circles, Tommy Clufetos has toured and recorded with the 

self-proclaimed Motor City Madman himself, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper and recently with Rob Zombie. Tommy also 

released a tuition DVD, ‘Behind The Player’ in 2008. With a background like that, it’s no surprise that 

Tommy Clufetos ‘313’ Performer Series Sticks 

definitely lean towards the ‘big hitter’ 

end of the scale! £11.99 rrp. 

PFTC-313 – Tommy Clufetos Performer Series ‘313’

In the world of electric guitar, there’s always room for another tuning system – 

especially when it’s as neat and practical an idea as the N-Tune system; just 

‘pull to tune – push to play’! 

N-Tune, says the manufacturing company, is a ‘..breakthrough in onboard guitar and bass guitar tuning, 

which installs in minutes under your guitar’s volume knob’. Okay so far, plus no permanent guitar modification 

required, and the system installs into almost any electric guitar or bass too, if they’ve got passive pickups so it’s 

all looking very positive. 

"Is this possible? Why can't somebody 

make a tuner built in to a guitar?" 

N-Tune 

The N-Tune Onboard True Bypass Chromatic Tuner is heralded as the world’s 

most convenient solution for fast, accurate guitar tuning. Whether you’re in the 

studio or on stage, simply pull your guitar volume rotary up to activate and use 

N-Tune’s super-bright display to silently tune up in seconds. Then push it 

back down to play – with perfect tone, thanks to N-Tune’s true bypass 

design which removes all tuning circuitry from your guitar’s signal path. 

N-Tune is an easy install, using standard soldering tools and requires no 

NT250CR3 £69.99rrp 

irreversible modification of your guitar. Just think, it wouldn’t matter if the 

for single coil guitar 

stage was in pitch darkness, you could still use the N-Tune 

system and get in tune in complete silence (and 

complete darkness as long as you could find 

your volume control!). No more hunching 

down onto your pedal board to activate a 

floor tuner or, worse still, having to unplug 

your guitar or bass, then plug in a tuner, 

tune up under pressure while the band is waiting to start the next song, then unplug 

the tuner and plug your signal lead back in, as it clatters, pops and bangs noisily. 

Not a good scenario you’ll agree, but onstage, hey, we’ve all been there... 

The (even more) good news is that there are two main types of N-Tune systems available – which 

will fit many types of guitar, thus – 

Single Coil Guitar Package. 

For guitars which use, frankly, single coil pickups (of course, hence the designation) and 250k ohm type 

potentiometers; that would include electrics such as the Vintage V6, Fret-King’s Super 60, Super S and Super T, 

Country Squire and so on. White, Black, Parchment and Cream N-Tune base ring sections, which fit under the 

control knob as you’ll see in the image, are available for the best match with your control knobs and scratchplate. 

Humbucker Guitar 

Package. 

Fits guitars with humbucking pickups which use 

500k ohm potentiometers, and that category 

includes electric guitars such as the Vintage V100 

and VS6, Fret-King Eclat Standard and Esprit 5 (twin 

humbucker layout), etc. Loads, in fact! Black and Cream 

N-tune control knob 

base ring sections are the 

available options for this style of guitar. 

Well, Gear thinks the N-Tune system looks 

pretty damn trick and we can’t wait to get 

this fitted to our guitars – anything that 

takes the pain out of a quick tune-up is 

absolutely fine by us – sorted! 

NT500CR3 £69.99rrp 

for humbucker guitar 

17

SYNERGYSeries TM 

The new ‘Synergy Series electro-acoustics from Vintage have proved 

to be a big success in the shops. With a truly distinctive look that's 

an attractive hybrid of both electric and acoustic instruments, this 

new guitar range has been 

designed to please players of 

both instrument categories. 

Pick a Synergy up and feel 

the smooth universal C-section 

neck profile, and the fine 

gauge fretwire on the gently 

cambered fingerboard. If 

you're an electric player, this 

is starting to feel like home. 

The Synergy's easy to hold 

while you're playing it, with 

its lightweight slim, 

textured finish partial 

bowl back design. 

And you can plug it in, 

because Synergy Series instruments are equipped 

with a Sonicore undersaddle piezo pickup system 

from Fishman, mated to an easy-to-operate IonT 

active preamp system mounted in the top rim of 

the guitar body, with contour and phase facilities. 

And this summer, joining the Synergy 6-stringer 

range is the new 12-string version! Easily capable 

of providing that glorious 12-string sonic wash 

that we all love, the VR6RRB-12, to give it its 

full title, will available in Ruby Redburst 

and costs £219.00 rrp, which sounds 

pretty reasonable to us, and then 

some. 

www.jhs.co.uk 

DUNLOP UNVEILS 

NEWEST ADDITIONS 

TO STRAP RANGE 

Dunlop and USA ‘wildcard’ brand Lucky 13 have once again joined forces to bring you a new collection 

of Lucky 13 straps. This highly successful line of collectable rock and roll icons feature all-new Lucky 

13 designs. Each strap is adorned with Lucky 13 original slogans and artwork. Tattoo your soul! 

£16.99 – £26.99 rrp. 

Grease, Gas & Glory 

Tattoo Your Soul 

Bikes Booze Broads 

Skull Stars 

Go from the skate park to centre stage with 

Dunlop's new SK8 Series guitar straps! Dunlop has 

taken the iconic styles of skateboard industry giants 

such as Independent®, Santa Cruz®, Nor-Cal®, and 

Skateboarding Is Not A Crime®, and dropped them onto our 

Dunlop gear. Keep your inner skate punk alive and on stage... SK8 series straps are branded with history's 

most recognisable skateboard logos and images, on authentic Dunlop Straps. £22.99 – £24.99 rrp. 

Independent Cammo 

Santa Cruz Screaming Hand 

Born To Lose 

Independent Red Cross 

Crime 

Independent Vertical 

Norcal Original 

Santa Cruz Dot 

Lots of late nights and guitar playing went into 

the development of Dunlop guitar straps. The funky D38 Series features easy adjustment 

custom buckles, comfort edge webbing, extra-long strap lengths, 100% leather ends, bold original 

jacquard woven and poly-woven designs. Here’s your strap – now go play! £22.99 each. 

Red Check 

GI Cammo 

Black & White Check 

Khaki Grommet 

Military Sergeant 

Grey Grommet 

18

As mentioned earlier in this 

issue of Gear, top guitarist Roy 

Fulton from Northern Ireland 

was one of the first players to 

get into the excellent Fret-King 

range of guitars. Here’s an 

update from Roy about his 

newest guitar purchase! 

R 

oy plumped 

for a twin 

humbucker-equipped Esprit 5 in Trans 

Amber, and has been using the guitar constantly 

since. The guitar was personalised for Roy 

with his name engraved on the scratchplate 

– in true showman tradition! Gear thought it 

was about time we found out exactly what 

Roy made of his unique looking Fret-King 

instrument... 

What was it you liked about the Fret-King 

Esprit 5 that made you choose it? 

‘It just has a great shape to it and looks 

perfectly balanced. As a guitar player (with 

more years under my belt that I care to 

remember) I’ve been lucky enough to own a 

wide and varied assortment of guitars. I’ve 

had and played all the obvious ‘big names’, 

but of late found myself wanting to get a 

guitar that was not so associated with 

established name players. I was going 

through a ‘Billy Gibbons phase’ (legendary 

guitarist with ZZ Top) and noticed, of late, 

Billy has been using more quirky-looking 

guitars and getting away from the mainstream 

shapes – that really appealed to me as well. 

For the last few years I’ve been looking (and 

buying) guitars that are just a little bit 

different to what is out there and considered 

the norm. The first moment I saw the 

Fret-King Esprit, I thought ‘I want one!’’ 

What does the guitar do for you as an 

instrument? 

‘It delivers! When you’re gigging – and it 

doesn’t matter if it’s in a pub with 20 people, 

or in front of 2000 theatre-goers – you need 

your gear to work, full stop! My guitars have 

to be fully functional, not let me down and 

do everything that I need and expect them to 

do – and the 

Esprit does the 

business. Although the 

Esprit body shape draws 

its influences from 

other guitar makes, 

the guitar still has 

a unique charm and 

is different enough to 

stand up and be counted 

on its own merits. 

It’s built like a tank 

and feels so solid; 

it certainly has 

a reassuring 

feel and touch to it, with a look that ‘turns 

heads’ at gigs. I’ve lost count the number of 

times guitarists have approached me after a 

gig to ask about the guitar – even to the 

point of wanting to buy it off me!’ 

How does it play? 

‘The guitar plays great. It’s quite heavy 

but very comfortable to play sitting 

down or when using a guitar strap, and is 

really well balanced. The action is perfect 

and, unlike some other guitars I own, the 

Esprit required no tweaking whatsoever. 

As soon as it arrived, it was ready for 

action straight from the box and I started 

gigging it right away! It makes it a perfect 

choice when I’m out playing with any of 

my own bands, Southbound (Southern 

Rock Band) and The Roy Fulton Band 

(Classic Rock & Blues Band). When 

gigging, I tend to play quite aggressively 

at times and the guitar holds its tuning 

lovely. On a practical note, the position 

of the volume and tone knobs 

and how they feel when you 

turn them is super-important 

to me. I like guitar control 

pots to be nice and even, both 

in terms of feel and function and 

once again, the guitar delivers.’ 

How does it sound? 

‘Excellent! Personally, I like the 

clarity and brightness sound 

of single coils but I also 

love the big sound of 

humbuckers and Trev 

Wilkinson’s pickups seem 

to have captured both 

these qualities. The pickups have loads of 

depth and body but also very important to 

my style is that they have a nice clarity to 

them. The pick-ups give me great definition 

and let me use a hybrid picking technique 

without sounding muddy. In terms of tone – 

think of it as an S-type guitar on steroids...!’ 

You’re a highly experienced player with a 

long list of credits - tell us something of 

your playing background. 

‘I grew up listening to the guitar greats – Eric 

Clapton, Carlos Santana, Roy Buchanan and 

many more! I started playing guitar around 

1970 and by the early 80’s I started giving 

private guitar lessons. (for £2 per hour – a 

good rate of pay then!) In the mid 90’s I 

became an RGT guitar tutor and LCM Guitar 

Grade Examiner. As all this was happening 

I was playing, playing, playing – anywhere 

and with anyone! I’ve never specialised in 

one style of music or another – I love so 

many different styles of music and guitar 

playing. Over the last few years my guitar 

work with solo and band gigs, studio 

sessions and tours as a sideman have been 

getting increasingly busier. 

If anyone is interested, a full list of the 

bands and artists I’ve played with or have 

supported are available to check out my 

website: www.royfulton.co.uk 

‘I’ve played thousands of gigs but 

the highlight for me was meeting (and 

supporting) singer/guitarist Ritchie Havens 

and also, hanging out with the legendary 

TV and radio presenter and fellow music 

fan, Bob Harris for a couple of days. 

That was a great weekend!’ 

• FBES5TA £609.00rrp 

19

Now, proving that time, and a good guitar 

range never stands still, here are the new 

colour additions to the Vintage range! 

Vintage V300BK 

Vintage’s V300 acoustic remains 

one of the biggest sellers in the 

range. The user-friendly dimensions 

of the V300 lie somewhere between 

a parlour and a concert size 

instrument, meaning it can offer a 

remarkably sweet and well-balanced 

sound. As ever, the guitar has 

a solid spruce top and nato 

laminate body top lurking 

under a new Gloss Black finish, 

with mock tortoiseshell 

scratchplate. A price tag 

of only £169.00 

means it’s sure to 

carry on being a 

best-seller. 

Vintage V300VSB 

Same fine build specifications, 

performance and dimensions as 

brother V300BK, but here with 

a fine 2-Tone Sunburst finish 

and black scratchplate. 

Sunburst is the 

classic coloured 

guitar finish, 

always a looker 

and remains so 

here. Again 

£169.00 rrp. 

Vintage V400CSB 

Echoing some of the more 

fiery red sunbursts of the ‘60s 

and ‘70s in particular, the 

Dreadnought-sized acoustic 

Vintage V400 is 

wearing a brightlyhued 

Cherry 

Sunburst finish. 

With a solid spruce 

top, nato laminate 

body and nato neck, the V400CSB 

retails at £159.00. 

Vintage VE300N 

Well, if you’ve got a sweettoned, 

smaller bodied acoustic 

guitar, what’s the next logical 

step? Make sure it can be 

plugged in, as with the 

VE300N - now available in 

Natural finish! The build 

specification of this guitar is 

20 

the same as the acoustic V300’s 

above with a Fishman Ion+ preamp 

and Sonicore pickup installed, the 

perfect way to amplify those sweet 

sounds. £209.00 rrp. 

Vintage VEC350FVSB 

A popular and characterful cutawaybodied 

acoustic, the VEC350 

guitars are surprisingly versatile 

instruments that feel easy to 

get on with. Easy to amplify 

too, thanks to the onboard 

Fishman Aero preamp 

system. 

The VEC350FVSB 

now adds another 

finish option, a classic 

Sunburst sprayed over a flame 

maple veneer makes this version 

a real looker at £229.00 rrp. 

Vintage VEC500BL 

The Vintage VEC500 guitars have 

a definite across-the-board 

appeal, with their 

Dreadnought body shape 

featuring a cutaway for 

easy upper fret access. 

A solid spruce top 

matched to 

a nato 

laminate 

body give a 

highly useable sound in any 

number of styles, plus the guitar 

can be plugged in via a Fishman 

Ion+ preamp. Many people cite 

Blue as their favourite guitar 

finish so that’s the newest 

addition to the VEC500 

range. £209.00 rrp. 

Vintage 

VEC800VSB 

Another very 

capable cutawaybodied 

Dreadnought 

series electro, and the 

Fishman preamp system really helps this 

guitar make the most of a tone-filled solid 

German spruce top and mahogany laminate 

body. Again, this Vintage Sunburst finish 

is a welcome addition to the other models 

in the range. £289.00 rrp. 

Vintage VJ100CSB 

Another popular acoustic guitar 

shape is the very traditional - and 

big and curvy - Super Jumbo, lovely 

shape. Solid spruce top, mahogany 

laminate body, mock tortoiseshell 

scratchplate and now a lively Cherry 

Sunburst paint job really adding 

to the ‘good looks’ factor. 

Only £189.00 rrp makes this 

Super Jumbo a 

particularly 

irresistible 

buy. 

Vintage 

V1300BK 

This high-spec folk series 

acoustic guitar features 

solid spruce top and solid 

mahogany body, with 

mahogany neck. The 

contrasting herringbone 

centre rosette looks 

very smart against the 

new High Gloss Black 

finish. £339.00 rrp. 

Vintage V1700VSB 

With a solid spruce top matched here to 

exceedingly attractive solid flame 

maple back and sides, this is an 

impressive-looking Jumbo acoustic. 

The only thing that could make this 

guitar better is a High Gloss 3-tone 

Sunburst, and that’s exactly what it 

gets.£579.00 rrp. 

Vintage VE1300BK 

The electro version 

of the V1300BK folk 

electro. High spec 

solid spruce top and 

solid mahogany 

body, fitted with 

Fishman’s Aero 

Blend preamp, 

and now in 

High Gloss Black. 

£419.00 rrp.

Win 5 Pedals and a Pedalboard! 

£370 

Prize! 

WIN a Vintage V6 

electric guitar 

fitted with an 

N-Tune tuner! 

1 1 2 3 4 5 

6 8 7 

9 10 

9 10 

11 12 

12 12 

6 

7 

7 

Worth over 

£270 

13 14 15 

17 16 17 18 

19 

Q. Who designs the pickups 

and hardware fitted on 

Vintage electric guitars? 

17 20 

21 21 22 

21 22 

23 

A. Trevor McDonald 

B. Trevor Brooking 

C. Trevor Wilkinson 

24 25 

24 

24 26 27 

ACROSS 

1. USA amplification make (6) 

4. Small bells of two cones (6) 

9. See 25 across (4) 

10. A soccer player’s first formal warning (6,4) 

11. Boxes for junior percussion instruments (6) 

12. Worn by the late jazzman George Melly (3,5) 

13. The sun goes down on this seaside area (6,3) 

15. Positive, above normal (4) 

16. Singer …. Fitzgerald (4) 

17. Weather conditions can be negatively affected in this way (9) 

21. To take a dispute to legal action (8) 

22. A vibraphone player (6) 

24. Four-string accompanying instrument (4,6) 

25. (And 9 across) make of guitar by 14 down (4,4) 

26. Two wheeled cab (6) 

27. Known by many as “The best starter electric guitar on the market” (6) 

DOWN 

1. A venerated Hindu God (7) 

2. Band member of ‘Madness’ (5) 

3. Brass and woodwind make (7) 

5. Famous make of guitar machine heads (6) 

6. Brand of leads (guitar to amplification) (3,6) 

7. Types of wood used in musical instrument manufacturing (7) 

8. Famous make of mixing desks (5,3,5) 

14. Trevor is the man! Famous guitar designer and maker (9) 

16. An inscription as a memory to a deceased person (7) 

18. Enclose, surround (7) 

19. Could be Harold’s nickname after the battle of Hastings (4, 3) 

20. Famous Italian tenor (1873-1921) (6) 

23. Describing a great film success (slang) (5) 

Name......................................................................................................................................Age....................... 

Address....................................................................................................................................................................................... 

....................................................................................................................................................Post Code............................... 

Daytime Tel No........................................................Email........................................................................................................ 

Send to GEAR, Salem House, Parkinson Approach, Garforth, Leeds LS25 2HR, UK. Closing date 31st October 2009. The first correct entry out of the bag wins. 

Win a Bonkers Summer 

Festival Pack 

Worth over £250! 

Get ready for the festival season – take your very own 

‘band-in-a-bag’! We’ve got a Vintage travel guitar, 

Acme samba whistle, Rhythm Tech tambourine, PP Drums 

bongos and a Busker harmonica and harness to give away. 

To win, simply re-arrange the letters to spell a word 

that is synonymous with our Great British festivals. 

DUM 

Name.............................................................................................................................................................Age....................... 

Address....................................................................................................................................................................................... 

....................................................................................................................................................Post Code............................... 

Daytime Tel No........................................................Email....................................................................................................... 


Name.............................................................................................................................................................Age....................... 

Address....................................................................................................................................................................................... 

....................................................................................................................................................Post Code............................... 

Daytime Tel No........................................................Email....................................................................................................... 


Answer: 

Competition entries are only accepted on the original coupons cut from the magazine (If you require a free replacement copy of Gear, please send a 66p stamped A4 

envelope with your address added) Photocopies will not be accepted. Multiple entries are not allowed. Only one entry per competition per person. 

21

REFLECTIONS 

REFLECTIONS 

When Kent-based musician, Mick Morris put together 

a self-produced album last year, he realised it was a 

personal musical summary of going from ‘new boy’ 

to ‘veteran’ in only 40 years! Here’s how his Encore 

guitar helped... 

M 

ick Morris’ love affair with the 

guitar began a long time ago and, 

fortunately, still shows no signs of 

tailing off. After a couple of false starts on 

violin and piano from the age of seven, he 

discovered the merits of playing guitar right 

about the time of the late 50’s skiffle boom. 

In the ensuing years, Mick has worked as 

an accompanist to numerous stage and 

television artists and, as a member of 

various bands over the years, has 

frequently opened for, and played 

alongside, some of the biggest 

names in the business. Mick is 

also a proficient player of several 

other instruments including 

banjo, mandolin, bouzouki, 

ukulele, keyboards and drums - 

and he sings a bit! 

Although claiming to have 

‘slowed down a bit’, he is still 

involved in teaching guitar and 

music theory and helps run a 

guitar club in his home town of 

Dover, Kent, where he also plays 

regularly with various jazz 

outfits. He is currently writing a 

book about life as a semi-pro 

musician called ‘Don’t Give Up The 

Day Job’, and is also completing 

recording an album of jazz standards. 

Here, Mick takes up the story of his album... 

The incredible ‘value for money’ 

FACTOR OF modern budget instruments 

‘I wonder if young players today know just 

how lucky they are to have really good quality 

guitars available at such low prices - and I 

do mean incredibly low - I'm talking about 

perhaps 1/20th of the price that they once 

were. I know it makes me sound like 

Methuselah, but when I was 17, a Fender® 

Stratocaster® cost the equivalent of about 

£6,000+ today and none of us could afford 

one. A young Eric Clapton was playing a 

Kaye, Jimmy Page and George Harrison had 

Hofner Futuramas and Jimi Hendrix played a 

dreadful old Supro. In the UK at the start of 

the 60’s, only Hank Marvin was able to ditch 

his first instrument (an Antoria that wouldn't 

stay in tune) for a real Strat®, Cliff Richard 

having made enough money by then to buy 

him one! As for 

me,I bought 

one of Jim 

Burns' early 

creations, 

a 

Burns 

Sonic, for 

a barelyaffordable 

50 

guineas (still 

nearly 

£2,000 in 

today's 

money). 

It wasn't 

a bad 

instrument, in fact it 

was good by the standards 

of that time, but neither it nor 

any of the others would come 

even close to the quality of a £100 

instrument today. 

So there's absolutely no excuse for not 

sounding good these days!’ 

Encore to the rescue! 

‘Several of the tracks on my album 

‘Reflections’ are effectively 'homages', new 

tunes but intended to reflect the sound or 

style of one or other of my favourite or most 

influential players. As such, I didn't think 

the album would be complete without a 

reference to Hank Marvin who, with The 

Shadows,, were without doubt one of the 

most important and successful guitar groups 

of all time. Hank's playing directly influenced 

almost all British guitarists of a certain age, 

including most of those mentioned earlier 

(and also Jeff Beck, and later Brian May and 

Mark Knopfler) and hence 

indirectly influenced 

everyone else. 

When it came to 

recording 

the track 

in question 

(Ranchero) the first 

demos were disappointing, 

several musician friends 

pointing out that whilst the tune 

itself sounded pretty authentic, the 

tone on the guitar lacked the characteristic 

Marvin twang and edginess. 

“You should have used the bridge pick-up 

like Hank always does”, said one. I didn't 

tell him, but the trouble was, I had - but I'd 

changed the original Fender® bridge pickup 

some years ago for a humbucker and whilst 

with the treble backed off a bit, I could now 

produce a passable imitation of Jeff Beck 

(on a bad day), it no longer had the cutting 

edge needed to do a ‘Hank’. I was offered the 

use of a spare Strat® that was laying around 

in the studio, but it still didn't have the 

early 60's tone I was looking for. Then I 

remembered my old Encore. The next day 

when I went back to the studio I took it 

with me and that was it - problem solved!’ 

ENCORE AND THE REFLECTIONS ALBUM 

‘It was important to me to get just the right 

sounds for my album. That in turn obviously 

meant using a lot of instruments, including 

all the ‘usual suspects’. A crazy situation - 

there I was in the studio surrounded by ‘big 

name’ instruments often costing ten times 

more than my old Encore and yet, more than 

once, the humble Encore was the only one to 

give me the exact tone I was looking for, 

and I ended up using it on several tracks. 

I’ve had my Encore quite a long time but 

hadn’t used it for a while, so I’d forgotten 

how good it sounded. All it needed was a 

fresh set set of strings (Dunlop 10’s) and 

it was ready to go. Maybe I shouldn’t have 

been so surprised though, as I’m also very 

impressed with much of the instrumentation 

that’s coming out of the JHS stable recently 

22

- Vintage and Fret-King ranges in particular. 

In fact, having seen the reviews, I’m seriously 

thinking of using a Fret-King Super 60 SP on 

an album (ent. ‘Sooner Or Later’) which I’m 

currently writing material and recording 

demos for.’ 

INSPIRATIONAL REFLECTIONS 

‘Apart from the occasional rare treat from 

the likes of Joe Satriani, Jeff Beck, etc., 

it’s pretty unusual nowadays to come cross 

an album consisting entirely of guitar 

instrumentals. This once very popular genre 

is, it seems, in danger of becoming a dying 

breed - though it’s good to be able to report 

that rumours of its 

total extinction 

have been 

somewhat 

exaggerated! 

What makes 

‘Reflections’ even 

more unusual though, is 

the diversity of its all-original 

material. Scarcely any two tracks 

share any common musical ancestry - 

haunting Pink Floyd-like passages and 

60’s retro twang compete for attention 

with acoustic blues, Irish-flavoured banjo, 

Hendrix-reminiscent riffs (a nod to my old 

pal, the late bass player for Jimi Hendrix, 

Noel Redding) and many other styles, a clear 

demonstration of my reluctance to be 

pigeonholed into any of the usual rock, 

blues, country, jazz or folk genres!’ 

And why the title ‘Reflections’, Mick? 

“That’s just me reflecting - and also 

reflecting on - some of the players and 

different styles of music I’ve enjoyed 

over the years,” responds Mick. 

BUDGET BRILLIANCE 

“Not only was my own Encore a real hero 

on my own recordings, in the meantime 

I'm also doing my bit to promote Encore 

with students and at the guitar club,” Mick 

points out. “Beginners and youngsters in 

particular don't usually want to spend 

too much until they can see where 

they're going - and luckily for 

them, these days 

they don't 

have to!” 

‘Reflections’ is 

now available 

online at: 

info@redadmiralrecords.com 

and will soon be 

available as a 

download from all major music sites 

including Amazon, i’Tunes, e-music, 

etc. 

More info on Kent rock and pop musicians 

can be found on this interesting website - 

www.kentgigs.com 

WHY ENCORE? 

So what’s so special about 

Encores that, as players like 

Mark Morris have found to their 

astonishment, they can compete 

with instruments sometimes 

costing an incredible 20 times as 

much? Well, as we reported in the 

last issue of Gear, acknowledged 

Guitar Guru, Trev Wilkinson, 

inspired designer of Fret-King 

and Vintage guitars and creator 

of many a now-standard guitar 

innovation, was recently 

commissioned to 

‘overhaul’ the Encore 

electric guitar range 

to make Encores even 

more enjoyable to play 

than ever, and at 

unbelievably 

competitive 

prices! 

Encore E6 Blaster 

The long-established twin cutaway body 

shape of the new Encore E6 Blaster, a firm 

favourite with guitar players the world over, 

has been carefully tweaked by 

Trev Wilkinson here to be as 

comfortable, ergonomic and 

balanced as possible. 

Therefore the Encore E6 

features a sculpted, 

ergonomically designed and 

naturally vibrant wuton 

tonewood body, which is light, 

resonant and easy to wear - ideal 

for the novice player! £125.00 rrp. 


Fans of out-and-out rock 

and blues guitar music 

might find themselves 

gravitating towards 

the distinctive single 

cutaway body/twin 

humbucker pickup 

layout of the Encore 

E99 Blaster electric. 

Smoothly arched 

top surface, with 

solidly mounted 

traditional Tune-o-matic bridge 

with stop-bar tailpiece, plus that 

Encore Blaster Series guitars are 

also available in ‘all you need’ 

Encore Blaster Pack outfit format, 

which includes guitar, BB Blaster 

10w combo, guitar stand, Qwik 

Tune tuner, guitar carry bag, lead, 

strap, plectrum, spare set strings 

and full, professionally-shot tuition 

DVD - and specially-designed 

‘Facelift’ re-usable guitar body 

overlay (E6 Blaster pack only). 

only £179.00 rrp. 

equally trademark group of four rotary 

controls. Love how this guitar looks! 

£149.00 rrp. 


The distinctive horns of the twin humbuckerequipped 

Encore E69 Blaster simply shout 

'attitude' - and how! With its resonant 

basswood body, the E69 has all the tonality 

and vibrancy essential for the playing power 

associated with this style of electric guitar. 

The E69 is light and manageable but with 

an versatile and powerful character. 

Just turn up the controls for 

maximum rock and roll! 

£139.00 rrp. 


Another body style 

that’s been a firm 

favourite with guitar 

players for many years, 

the single cutawaybodied 


offers good upper fret access 

and easy playability with its 

straightforward ‘neck and 

bridge’ pickup layout, 

controlled by a 3-way 

pickup selector - the 

ideal guitar for those 

who love rock, blues, 

and country-based 

guitar sounds! 

£125.00 rrp. 


Bass Guitar 

To get a true flavour of playing a full size 

bass guitar, you need to put the new Encore 

E4 Blaster Bass Guitar through its paces. Full 

size bass guitars can be unwieldy beasts to 

the inexperienced, but the E4 bass features 

the low mass Far Eastern tonewood, 

‘wuton’ as its body wood, which makes 

the Encore E4 bass guitar as easy to 

get on with as any full size bass 

guitar is likely to be! £139.00 rrp. 

23

TWO FOOT MAID 

This ubiquitously titled three piece band of brothers from the North East 

comprises of Alex Close, 19, on bass and vocals, Seb Close, 17, on drums 

and Chris Close, 16, on lead guitar. Formed in 2008 the band have written 

an entire set and have travelled the length of the country promoting their 

new material. Constantly working and looking for new venues to play, the 

brothers are building up a reputation for producing 

a live set that rocks from start to finish with one song flowing 

effortlessly into the next and have played at some of the countries 

most famous music venues, Newcastle City Hall, Sunderland Empire 

and the world famous Cavern Club, Liverpool, to name a few. 

Off the stage the three brothers are also successful Ice and Roller hockey players. They were all put 

on the ice at an early age and it was soon evident that the Alex, Seb and Chris were special. 

All three brothers have captained Durham City Hockey Club's teams at various age groups. 

They have won National, Superleague and International titles for club, region and 

country. Whilst not currently playing regular hockey due to there educational and 

music commitments the three brothers still practice regulary to keep in shape and 

are looking to return to competitive hockey next season. 

– Chris 

www.myspace.com/twofootmaid 

As their surname suggests the brothers are 'Close.' Whether it's on skates or on stage they seem 

to have an innate ability to know what each other is going to do. Or dare I say is thinking? A look 

here a glance there, the three are 'in tune' with each other. Home life is no different. Music and sport 

surrounds them. Their determination and dedication knows no bounds. Indeed, Seb played a gig just three days 

after suffering a fractured eye socket, cheek bone and jaw. (he got jumped on whilst walking to MacDonalds with 

his girlfriend!) He looked like S##T but played as if nothing was wrong! Two days later he was in theatre having 

his face rebuilt and plated! Rock and Roll! 

Make no mistake. Two Foot Maid are for real and have a gritty determination to succeed. They also have their 

feet planted firmly on the ground and know there is a long, hard road ahead. 

The brothers have turned to Vintage guitars to help them on their journey, with Chris using his trusty Vintage 

Advance AV3HNF almost constantly live "It gets thrown around in it's Kinsman case in the back of the van and 

never goes out of tune!" he enthuses "It's robust, reliable and turns heads everywhere I play it". 

– Alex 

Vintage 

AV3HFCR k 

£459.00 

Bleech hail from London’s East End and have just released their 

stand-out self-penned debut single “Is It True That Boys Don’t Cry?”. 

The single is also the debut release for Ban*Jam records, the logical 

extension of the famed Ban*Jam club nights. 

www.myspace.com/bleech 

With the presses still warm, the wry high energy tune 

has been snapped up by the National Theatre for its 

nationwide New Connections youth theatre programme. 

The programme’s finale will be at the NT on the South 

Bank in July with Bleech closing the show. 

The talented three-piece, now managed by 

Andy Ross, who discovered that little known 

band, Blur, have already created a buzz among 

the cognoscenti having been featured by Steve 

Lamacq and John Kennedy. 

In their short, but explosive career, 

singer/guitarist Jennifer O’Neill has been 

using the Vintage Advance AV3HFCR for 

their live performances, which to date have 

included support slots with Pete Doherty, 

The Rifles and The Kooks. 

Bleech are fast gaining a reputation for their songwriting skills, 

gutsy live performances and their melodic, grungy, guitar-led sound 

reminiscent of Nineties Brit Pop at its best. The band are continuing 

a relentless sequence of live shows, including two nights at this 

year’s forthcoming Camden Crawl. 

24

8 months. Just as Billboard Magazine predicted, it became the concert 

anthem of 2007. When the video was voted MTV2's Headbanger's Ball 

TOP 5 METAL VIDEOS OF THE YEAR, it was just the icing on the cake. 

In the following 18 months the band kept a militant touring schedule... 

staying out on the road with the likes of Korn, Disturbed, Slipknot, 

and Machine Head – eventually worked their way up to become a true 

headlining act selling out venues across America. 

Formed in 2005 by Hungarian born guitarist, Zoltan Bathory 

Five Finger Death Punch have quickly established a reputation 

as one of the best metal bands of recent years. 

5FDP features Ivan Moody (vocals) – Jeremy Spencer (drums) 

– Jason Hook (guitars-formerly of Alice Cooper) and Kustom 

Amplification endorsee Matt Snell (bass) the band called 

themselves "Five Finger Death Punch" – as a nod to Hong-Kong 

Kung-Fu cinema. The band recorded their self-produced first album 

(The Way Of The Fist) with sound engineers Stevo "Shotgun" Bruno 

(Mötley Crüe, Prong), and Mike Sarkysian (Spineshank) in 

2006. The debut's mixing and mastering 

duties were handed to former 

Machine Head, Soulfly guitarist 

Logan Mader. Topping online 

charts and playing sold out shows, 

Five Finger Death Punch begun its 

rapid rise with their modern day 

metal. It wasn't long before one of the 

most powerful managements, "The Firm" 

(Korn, Limp Bizkit, Staind) took notice, 

and signed 5FDP to their artist friendly label 

Firm Music. 

Their critically acclaimed debut album broke into the Billboard 200 

on its first week of release and had been called the "Cowboys from 

Hell for this Millennium" by prestigious magazines. 

In an unfriendly climate for metal, their hit single, "The Bleeding," went 

top ten against all odds and ruled the radio waves for an astonishing 

For a powerful metal outfit like 5FDP, volume 

and tone cannot be compromised, which is why 

bassist Matt Snell insisted on a Kustom Groove 

stack for recent gigs in the UK and Europe. Matt's 

choice was the 1300 watt 

Matt 

Snell 

Groove Bass head, with two 

2x15 cabs for a full earth 

shaking bottom end, whilst 

the inbuilt atteunable tweeters 

ensure plenty of brightness on the top. 

In three short years 5FDP have torpedoed the rock charts with three 

hit singles, and sold over 300,000 records... An impossibly long shot 

from a brand-new band with a self produced debut record. 

5FDP are returning to the studio to begin working on their follow up 

record. 

www.fivefingerdeathpunch.com 

www.myspace.com/mindlessselfindulgence 

American Shock-Rockers Mindless Self Indulgence were formed by frontman Jimmy Urine and 

feature Steve Righ? on lead guitar, Kitty on drums and Lyn-Z on bass (who happens to be married 

to My Chemical Romances Gerard Way). Mixing numerous styles such as Shock rock, electronica, 

punk, jungle and industrial, they got their name from the CD Mindless Self-Indulgence, a solo album 

by Jimmy Urine recorded in the mid-1990s. 

Steve 

Righ? 

A band that's fiercely independent and stunningly visceral in both their recorded material and their 

live shows, NYC's Mindless Self Indulgence know how to make a big commotion. Since 1997, this co-ed 

electronic/punk rock band has been storming the electronic and punk scenes sweeping up many 

hardcore fans in its wake with its music and incendiary live performances. 

For live shows the bands guitarist Steve Righ? uses the Kustom Coupe Hardtop 100 watt head and cab 

to get his varied palette of monster tones, and can be seen using it in their hit video "Never Wanted 

To Dance". The story goes that he got the name "Steve, Righ?" from someone approaching him at a 

show saying, "You're Steve, righ?...". He was hospitalised from late 2004 to early 2005 due to a hip 

injury sustained at a joint My Chemical Romance/Mindless Self 

Indulgence show. He has had two surgeries on his hip – the first 

one unsuccessful. According to an interview with Jimmy for 

Kerrang! magazine, Steve claims to frequently get stopped by the 

metal detectors at airports due to his metal hip.... 

25

Tired of tripping up onstage? Then you need 

DIAGO PEDAL BOARDS 

If you’re like us, you love guitar effects pedals. New ones, old ones, 

cool ones, wacky ones, big and small... you might need to put them 

somewhere practical though, and Tony Simmons has just the 

answer...they’re new and they’re ace! Ladies and 

Gentlemen, guitarists everywhere, we 

introduce - Diago Pedal Boards! 

Gosh, there 

aren’t half a 

lot of effects 

pedals available these 

days. Not that I’m 

complaining, though 

my credit card might 

want to register a note 

of protest about the situation 

sometimes...Of course, the 

age-old problem with the most excellent 

stomp box is that once you’ve accumulated 

a few, and then a few more, and then etc... 

well, things can start to get a bit kind of 

messy. And not just because your missus is 

demanding to know if that’s another new 

pedal that you’ve bought... (Apologies if you 

are a female guitarist or bass player, please 

just swap scenarios...) So whether it’s at 

home, rehearsal or a gig, a load of pedals 

scattered around the floor does not look 

good, especially if you’ve opted to use wall 

warts, i.e. PSUs (power supply units), 

because you’ll then also need a couple of 

4-gang plug boards beside you too. Now, 

knowing the average size of a pub gig 

performing area, if you’re surrounded by that 

lot on the floor around you, it’s starting to 

look VERY untidy. Not really too safe, either. 

Time for a solution. 

Generally speaking, I reckon Jimi Hendrix 

was the first guitarist who could be seen to 

use pedals onstage, especially on television 

shows, so I’d guess he was the first official 

‘pedalhead’. Bands like The Shadows had lead 

guitarist Hank Marvin using an echo pedal 

but you never saw it being used in performance, 

as such – Hank’s sound may even have been 

regarded as a sort of ‘trade secret’ at the 

time.. And groups like the Beatles, in their 

earlier days, always just fed the signal leads 

from the guitars straight into their amps, or 

so it looked on screen; a neat enough 

arrangement when they didn’t worry about 

changing their guitar sound for different 

numbers. With Hendrix though, there was 

always the wah pedal, the Fuzz Face distortion 

and sometimes later the Octavia octave 

doubler strewn around the area on stage in 

front of him. So three pedals didn’t – and 

doesn’t – look too messy, but more than 

that and it’s a right pain. 

So, Jimi didn’t 

really need to bother, but 

how many guitarists who use 

pedals have thought, perhaps every time 

they line their pedals up on the floor to 

perform, that they really MUST sort out a 

pedal board soon... But then when they 

think about the trip to B&Q to get the wood 

and fittings, and then about putting it all 

together, especially if they’re not too DIYsavvy, 

the motivation inevitably fades into 

the ether... 

I’ve used a pedal board for a good few years 

now – it’s got my most-used essential six 

pedals on it, with room for another pedal if 

I want to try one in my line-up – and there’s 

the multi-feed power supply too, to each 

pedal, both 9v and 18v jobs. I can’t begin to 

describe the sheer convenience of this 

arrangement. In fact, I made up another 

pedal board with another set of pedals on it 

as my ‘alternative’ for when I want to change 

my sound at a practice or gig – just for the 

hell of it. But just being able to grab the 

pedal board when I’m loading up the car for 

a gig, then hoik it into the gig, take off the 

cover and lay the board on the floor, plug in 

my In/Out signal leads and that’s that bit 

done... brilliant. Also, at 1.30 in the morning 

after a tiring gig, pack it up, into the car – 

minimum fuss, innit? And it’s all so easily 

stored at home too, so everyone’s happy. 

(IT’S A) NO BRAINER 

So, if you fancy going the pedal board route, 

why not take the pain out of the assembly 

‘I can’t begin to describe the sheer convenience 

of this arrangement’ 

stage and go the ready-made route with a 

fully pro quality pedal board from makers 

Diago? Well, I’ll tell you, my ‘old faithful’ 

main pedal board is getting pretty beat up 

and past it after years of service, so I reckon 

I’ll be looking to purchase my own Diago 

pedal board and slot my equally beaten-up 

pedals ’n’ PSU in there – at least they’ll 

have a nice case to travel around to gigs 

and rehearsals in! A pedal board looks 

smart and organised, is much safer to use 

onstage, especially where standing 

space is limited, 

and saves no 

end 

of hassle 

as you don’t 

have to 

re-connect and 

disconnect loads of 

power leads and patch 

leads every time you play. 

DIAGO PEDAL BOARDS 

- GUARANTEED TO 

GO THE DISTANCE 

Diago Pedal Boards offer many highspecification 

features. Heavy duty catches 

make sure the base and lid are securely 

shut, whilst all corner sections have armour 

protection. A sturdy amp-style, throughbolted 

handle lets you transport the loaded 

case with confidence. One half of the case 

is the low-profile edge pedal board base 

itself – the other case half is a removable 

quick-release protective lid. 

Pedals, power supplies, etc. are fixed to a 

pre-set Velcro ‘loop’ using industrial grade 

sticky-backed Velcro ‘hook’ strips, so they 

can be positioned – and re-positioned – 

easily anywhere on the board, in any 

orientation. The Velcro is super-sticky, too – 

with the board open at a gig, no one would 

be able to opportunistically ‘steal’ a pedal 

without you noticing – you can turn the 

pedal board upside down and shake it as 

proof; the pedals don’t budge an inch. A 

decent roll of 25mm wide industrial-grade 

sticky-backed Velcro hook strip is included by 

Diago with every pedal board. 

Diago Pedal Board lids are lined with foam 

• Detachable Lid. Pedal Board Base!

to gently hold the top of any taller pedals, 

and attaches/detaches using quick-release 

hinges at the back of the board. As the lid is 

closed, the hinges hook progressively around 

each other, locking lid and board together. 

Diago Pedal Boards are constructed from 

1/2” eastern plywood which is rigid, light 

and durable – and 

DIAGO PEDALBOARD 

• 1/2'' plywood panel construction 

• Heavy duty fabric covering 

• Heavy duty catches with lock ring 

• Through-bolted handle 

• Armour protected corners 

• Non-slip feet 

• Quick-release hinges 

• Detachable foam padded lid 

• Low-profile pedal board base 

• Velcro ® loop covered base 

• Velcro ® hook tape included 

sturdy as 

anything, thanks 

to that road-resistant 

heavy-duty fabric covering. 

DIAGO PEDAL BOARDS - 

WHAT’S AVAILABLE 

TOURMAN 

Approximately the same size as an electric 

guitar case, the Diago Tourman is designed 

to accept a wide variety of effects pedals in 

a number of different formats and sizes. This 

is the one for you if you use quite a number 

of pedals, from full size wah wahs and volume 

pedals to larger 18v-type units such as the 

MXR Stereo Chorus. Even multi effects pedal 

boards can be accommodated in the 

Tourman, the largest of the pedal board 

options available. Ideal for session players 

or players in more than one band, the 

Tourman’s internal dimensions of 1020 x 450 

x 100mm can hold a wide selection of regular 

and irregular-sized pedals, with plenty of 

space left to accommodate a power supply, 

such as the Diago Powerstation. 

The Tourman pedal board is supplied with 4m 

of 25mm width sticky-backed Velcro hook to 

keep pedals securely in situ. £149.99 rrp. 

SHOWMAN 

This mid-sized Diago pedal board case offers 

an ideal compromise between physical size 

and internal capacity, with room for your 

most-used pedals and a power supply unit, 

with supplied Velcro hook tape lengths. 

£124.99 rrp. 

GIGMAN 

For reference in terms of size, the Gigman 

pedal board is roughly 

the same size as a 

big-ish briefcase. 

This compact 

pedal board is 

easily portable, 

capable of carrying 

and protecting your 

‘most vital’ pedals, 

with a power supply. 

Ideal to have as a 

‘back-up’ for your 

larger main pedal 

board. Also supplied 

with Velcro hook tape 

lengths. £99.99 rrp. 

DIAGO 

ACCESSORIES 

Precision-manufactured 

accessories available for 

Diago pedal boards! 

DIAGO 

POWERSTATION 

This is the ultimate pedal 

board power supply unit, one 

which will power from 1 to an 

incredible 30 pedals (with enough daisy 

chains) - without noise or hum. Powering 

multiple effects pedals has long been a 

problem especially with cheaper pedal 

power supplies, which are often 

under-rated, unregulated, poorly 

filtered designs which 

pollute the guitar signal 

with noise and hum. 

The studio-quality Diago Powerstation uses 

state-of-the-art digital switch mode technology 

making it quiet, light and totally efficient in 

operation, and it has the ability to power 

over 95% of stomp box pedal types, an 

impressive count. 

It has also achieved fully-approved, type 

approval use certification in many countries, 

which underlines just how well made the 

Powerstation unit actually is. 

Safety standards are particularly high in the 

unit, with full internal 

short circuit and voltage protection. 

It’s also surprisingly compact, and can be 

used worldwide in any country thanks to its 

internal voltage adaptor system (no additional 

step-up, step-down transformers needed), 

and comes supplied with one additional 

‘daisy chain’ power link lead. Amazing value 

too, as this high-performance PSU costs 

only £69.99 rrp. 

DIAGO DELUXE DAISY 

CHAIN LINKS 

Diago offers a Deluxe Daisy 

Chain power supply link 

taking the regulated 

power supply to six 

pedals in your line-up, 

a Deluxe Daisy Chain set 

featuring 6 x right-angled 2.1mm barrel 

plugs, with 300mm length available between 

each plug. Price £9.99 per set of six. 

DIAGO POWER 

CONNECTION ADAPTORS 

A selection of power connection adaptors is 

also available from Diago to suit most pedal 

types - Green Adaptor – centre positive, 

2.5mm barrel plug, £5.99 rrp. 

Blue Adaptor – positive tip, 3.5mm mini 

jack plug, £5.99 rrp. 

Red Adaptor – centre positive, 2.1mm barrel 

plug, £5.99 rrp. 

White Adaptor – 9v battery snap connector, 

£5.99 rrp. 

Black Adaptor – 30cm extension lead for 

daisy chain, £5.99 rrp. 

PS03 

PS04 

PS05 

P S 0 6 

• POWERSTATION P S 0 1 

• Powers over 95% of pedals • Powers up to 30 pedals 

(with enough Daisy Chains) 

• Studio quality components 

• Quite - hum and noise free 

• Light and compact 

• Heavy duty ABS shock free case 

• Works in ANY country 

• No need for step-up, step-down transformers 

• Short circuit and voltage protection 

• Meets national & international safety regs 

P S 0 7

COUNTRY SQUIRE 

SUPER S & SUPER T 

Fret-King Supremo Trev Wilkinson always maintains that he makes ‘working vintage guitars’, designed from a 

player’s point of view for guitar players. Tony Simmons looks at two prime examples of that famous 

Wilkinson philosophy. 

L 

ike many guitar players I’m sure, the 

overall look of these Fret-King Blue 

Blue Label Super S and Super T guitars 

has a real appeal for me, reflecting my 

favourite electric guitar style famed for its 

‘no frills, no nonsense’ attitude that has 

provided grass roots guitar sounds for many 

decades now. And though it wouldn’t be 

unreasonable to refer to the Super S and 

Super T guitars as twins, they’re by no means 

identical twins as each has its own distinct 

attributes and character. 

Construction 

Though 

they’re 

single cutaway 

body guitars with 

bolt-on necks, 

straight away Trev 

Wilkinson’s influence 

on the formula makes 

itself obvious; bat wing 

headstock, stepped top 

scratchplate, elongated rotary 

control plate with up-angle 

pickup selector - and what’s 

this? - a three brass double 

string saddle design 

that can be intonated? 

Excellent, and more 

on this later. 

Wilkinson knows that 

if this type guitar 

design is going to 

work, the fundamentals 

have to be 

correct. Thus the 

body is two-piece centrejointed 

imported American alder - many 

alternatives use three or four-piece bodies 

under a solid colour. Centre-jointing gives 

the guitars a nicely balanced feel from the 

matched halves, but already the raw material 

cost is accelerating, as this certainly ain’t 

28 

FBSTMLB 

Super T 

Metallc Lght Blue 

the ‘budget’ way to build a guitar, and 

neither is it cheap to import proper alder 

from America. Then there’s the Canadian hard 

rock maple used for the neck and the Indian 

Rosewood fingerboard... 

It’s good to see that Trev’s applied ‘comfort 

contouring’ to what would otherwise be slab 

bodied instruments, with a nice forearm 

chamfer across the top bout greatly aiding 

player comfort - especially over the course 

of a night’s gig - as 

does the scoopedout 

rear ribcage 

FBSTTRB 

Super T 

Trans Blue 

carving, 

both of 

these 

echoing 

Trev’s topof-therange 

Green 

Label UK-produced 

‘Yardbird’ electric, itself a 

tribute to guitar legend Jeff 

Beck’s iconic 60’s guitar 

which was similarly modified, 

which always appealed to a 

young, impressionable 

Wilkinson. And, like Trev’s 

other detailing, it works! 

Fret-King Super T 

FBSTBSC 

Super T 

Butterscotch 

Let’s take the more straightforward of 

these two guitar designs first, the twopickup 

Super T. It’s finished in Metallic Light 

Blue which really suits the guitar, and it’s 

interesting to note that during the course 

of this review, I had more non-guitar playing 

people come out with an (unprompted) 

‘that guitar looks really nice’ than for any 

other guitar I’ve tried recently. Definitely 

a reassuring start, as everyone wants to 

think their ‘guitar of choice’ at least looks 

the part, don’t they? 

The high quality/high value theme continues 

throughout - tuners are Gotoh® SG38 sealed 

gear units with a smooth and even action, 

and an authentic vintage style circular string 

tree provides a positive break angle over the 

nut for the top E and B strings. 

Intonation is always an issue with this style 

of guitar, but this Super T - and the Super S 

- feature the unique and innovative Wilkinson 

WT3 bridge. Constructed from thin gauge 

steel for authentic tone, it features intonatable 

machined brass saddles from Trev W for greatly 

improved intonation, irrespective of string 

gauge. Proper ‘ashtray’ style bridge housing 

too, and good to see the heart of any T-type 

guitar - the bridge pickup, natch - sporting 

decent diameter, non-staggered height slugs 

(polepieces) for the provision of that good 

ol’ T tone, especially when there’s also a 

steel baseplate under the pickup, as 

tradition requires for that sound. 

In Use 

It’s easy to feel at home on 

this guitar, to pull it in tight, 

dig in, and get some seriously 

twangsome action going - after 

all, that’s what’s expected from 

this style of guitar and if it don’t do that, 

then it’s no use to anyone. But there’s no 

disappointment, and that famous barking 

bridge pickup twang is especially good on 

the chicken pickin’ workouts. Moving to a 

more bluesy rock style presents no problems 

either, thanks to the fat medium-heavy frets 

fitted here. They are notably chunky and 

so big, expressive bends are definitely the 

order of the day! The centre selector pickup 

position gives you the funk as it should, 

with that slightly thinner, more transparent 

tone that’s so useful for funky chord 

accompaniments. 

Flicking the selector up and forward to hook 

up the neck pickup gives everything you play 

a smoother tonal veneer, a chord freak’s 

heaven - and that’s me, I love these dark 

and jazzy tones, with that flutey octave 

response up around the twelfth fret - sweet. 

“But why angle the pickup selector like that, 

Trev?” I asked him. The response is typically 

pragmatic. “When you’re controlling the volume 

by riding the volume rotary as you will do with 

this style of guitar, the natural angle of your 

hand in that position means that it’s easier for 

your pinky to hook the selector with that upangle 

travel,” he smiles. And he’s right - 

thinking about the player again.

Fret-King Super S 

Build-wise, the Super S echoes the Super T 

in many respects, including the intonatable 

WT3 bridge and those so-neat contours and 

chamfers adding greatly to the comfort 

factor. This is, however, definitely a more 

versatile take on the ‘T’ formula. In the way 

that many bass players opted for a P/J style 

of pickup layout and added an additional 

pickup to give their bass improved 

tonal versatility, so many 

guitarists added an extra centre 

single coil to the twin-pickup 

T guitar for more sounds. 

Not that the original 

formula is lacking in 

any respect, but if 

you’re a session 

player, the more 

tones you have 

available under 

your fingers, the 

better, especially if 

it saves you having to 

lug (yet) another guitar 

around with you. Not that I can 

talk, but hey... 

This time, the up-angle pickup selector lever 

offers five options - the three ‘standard’ 

neck, middle and bridge options are all 

available, along with the funkier, glassy 

S-type ‘in between’ sounds too - like, if 

you fancied doing Sultans Of Swing in your 

covers set, you’d have an authentic Mark 

Knopfler tone right away with the 

in-between mid/bridge position 4. 

Conclusion 

In this super-competitive £500- £1000 

guitar price category, it’s important that 

you should try every option you can. Other 

makes of these types of guitars often exhibit 

various inconsistencies of build quality and 

can feel decidedly less than average, but the 

build quality on these Korean-made Fret-King 

Blue Labels (and other Blue Label guitars 

I’ve tried) is always impressively high, with 

FBSSOCB 

Super S 

Original 

Classic Burst 

FBSSTRB 

Super S 

Trans Blue 

FBSSBSC 

Super S 

Butterscotch 

excellent finish quality 

and impressive 

hardware. 

Trev’s proplayer 

approach 

is always 

refreshing and 

always effective. 

At £649.00 rrp, very 

much the lower end of 

the price category referred to 

above for either the Super T or 

Super S, the price is right, as the famous 

TV programme has it. 

And also, as with the Super T, chunky frets 

and a reasonable deep C-section neck give 

the guitar a robust, rugged, going-thedistance 

feel in use. And the impression is 

that distance is no object... 

Spec Check 

Fret-King Blue Label 

Super S and Super T 

Body: Comfort contoured, 

centre-joined 2-piece 

American alder 

Neck: Canadian rock 

maple 

Fingerboard: Indian rosewood 

Machineheads: Gotoh 

Bridge: Wilkinson WT3 raised edge 

Controls: Volume, Tone, 3-way 

pickup selector (5-way Super S) 

Pickups: (Super T) 2 x Wilkinson 

s/c; (Super S) 3 x Wilkinson s/c 

Case: Fret-King luxury padded bag 

RRP: Super S: £649.00 

Super T: £649.00 

‘STVDIO’ 

& 

‘ATELIER’ 

Series 

STVDIO Series showcases 

the inspirational vibe inherent 

in all Fret-King ¤ guitars. 

Each STVDIO Series guitar is 

a one off proof of concept 

instrument, unlikely ever to be 

exactly repeated. 

These individual and occasionally 

experimental instruments embody 

the talent of Trev Wilkinson as a 

designer and master builder. 

To own one of these amazing 

instruments, created in Fret- 

Kings UK workshop, is to own 

a unique, intriguing, interesting 

and eminently capable guitar 

of peerless quality. 

ATELIER Series showcases 

the outer limits of the cosmetic 

embellishments possible with Fret- 

King ¤ GREEN LABEL Series guitars. 

Each ATELIER Series guitar is 

although created as a virtually one 

off custom instrument, is available 

to special order. 

These individual and occasionally experimental instruments 

embody the talent of Trev Wilkinson as a designer and 

master builder. 

To own one of these supremely beautiful instruments, 

created in Fret-Kings UK workshop, is to own an ber 

collectible work of art, as well as an interesting and 

eminently capable guitar of peerless quality. 

Visit: www.fret-king.com/atelier.htm 

to see more 

www.fret-king.com 

29

KEVIN ASTON’S 

TECH TALK 

What’s a mixer? 

Do you know your PAN from your PFL? We’ve all felt intimidated 

by the layout of mixing desks, but fear not - Gear’s tame boffin 

Kevin Aston guides you down a desk channel strip using the 

ALLEN & HEATH ZED22FX desk. 

It only takes an onstage cry of ‘Can I have 

less reverb in my monitor?’ from the vocalist 

to elicit one of two reactions from anyone 

standing in the proximity of the mixing desk; 

a) someone who goes straight to the 

respective controls and takes out some of the 

reverb as requested or, more likely, b) total 

paralysis caused by control confusion. 

Don’t be afraid to admit it, mixers can be 

daunting to look at, with seemingly hundreds 

of multi-coloured controls with function 

names which only serve to baffle even more. 

So, without further ado, let me lead you 

gently into the land of the mixing console... 

A mixer can be referred to by a number of 

titles; mixing console, board and desk are 

often used but each means the same thing. 

A mixer is a device that allows you to balance, 

position, effect and equalise a number of 

sound sources (inputs) into a good sounding 

sonic image referred to as ‘..a mix’. In the 

mix, you can add effects to some channels 

but not others, and position instruments to 

a location in the stereo sound field. You can 

route channels to outboard equipment that 

produces an interesting effect and ‘sculpt’ 

the sound of each channel with a dedicated 

equaliser where the bass, mid and treble can 

be varied in such a way that the whole song 

‘gels’. And you can dramatically improve your 

music made of multiple tracks by learning 

how to mix. 

ALLEN & HEATH ZED22FX 

A mixer is actually a very simple animal. 

I know it looks like it has acres of controls, 

but all it does is to allow you to combine and 

route audio signals from a set of inputs to a 

set of outputs. More advanced models will 

allow you to add varied signal processing 

effects. 

The main image on this page shows an Allen 

& Heath ZED22FX mixer. I chose this for my 

example as it is equally at home as a live 

mixer, or for recording. The ‘22’ tells you it 

has 22 input channels, which it can mix 

(combine) into 2 channels – I’ll return to 

this later. 

Spend a few minutes looking at any 

mixing desk, and you will notice 

that every mixer layout follows a 

simple and logical sequence of 

control layout. Starting from the 

left hand side, the panel is set out 

in distinct vertical ‘strips’, each 

strip being the same. These are the 

individual input channels, the ‘22’ 

in the mixer’s model number. 

These are the 

22 input 

channels. 

TOO 

LOUD 

Moving 

to the 

right hand 

side, the 

layout has changed 

slightly, but it still 

follows the same logical 

layout principle. The two red 

sliders refer to the two outputs. 

So far so good, but what exactly 

does a mixer do? 

You take a number of input signals; 

vocal microphone(s), keyboards, 

guitars and drums. Listening to the 

band playing, the guitarist may be 

too loud compared to the rest of 

the band (never, it’ll be the drummer 

or the bass player – guitarist Ed). 

Your mixer gives you full control 

over this. Each sound source goes 

through one or more channels. 

Using the input levels and EQ, you 

can “shape“ each sound and, using 

the channel faders, you control each 

channel’s volume level. Using these 

few controls, you can “place” 

sounds across the stage using the 

Pan controls. You can bring a sound 

to the front of the stage by gently 

boosting the volume and EQ on that 

channel. OR, you can move the 

sound to the back of the stage by 

backing off the bass EQ and lowering the 

volume of that channel. 

OK, let’s jump in and take a look at a channel 

strip of an Allen & Heath ZED22FX, and 

explain what the controls do. The first 16 

channels are all exactly the same, and are 

termed MONO INPUTS. 

Mic In 

Use this XLR input to connect your microphones 

or DI boxes. It is a balanced input, wired in 

the normal convention of Pin 1 = chassis, Pin 

2 = hot signal (+), and Pin 3 + cold(-) signal. 

The Mic input connects to the heart of any 

mixing desk, the preamplifier. The preamp is 

used to boost the weak -70 dBu to -50 dBu 

nominal output levels of microphones to 

around +4 dBu. 

Line In 

Use this connector for plugging in ‘Line Level’ 

instruments such as keyboards, samplers or 

drum machines. It can also be used to accept 

the returns from multitrack tape machines 

and other recording media. It is a balanced 

input, wired in the normal convention of 

(stereo socket) Tip = hot signal (+), Ring = 

cold signal (-) and Sleeve = chassis. If you 

connect a plug to the Line Input, it 

overrides the XLR input 

socket. 

Insert 

Point 

This is used to 

connect external 

signal processors 

such as compressors or limiters within the 

input module. The Insert Point allows external 

devices to be placed within the Input Path. 

This is a stereo socket, wired to Tip = signal 

send, Ring = signal return and Sleeve = ground. 

Gain Control (Input Sensitivity) 

Sets how much of the signal from the mic or 

line inputs is fed to the channel. This gain 

runs from -6dB to +63dB with the XLR input, 

-10dB to +26dB when using line in. 

HPF (High Pass Filter) 

As the name suggests, this switch cuts out 

the very lowest frequencies of a sound whilst 

30

allowing the high frequencies to ‘pass 

through’. It’s particularly useful in live 

situations to reduce stage rumble or 

microphone ‘popping’, which can produce a 

muddy mix, or to clean up male vocals and 

filter out low frequency hum. The A & H HPF 

is a 2-pole filter rolling off at 100Hz; 2-pole 

means it will roll off at 12dB per octave. 

EQ Section 

The equaliser section allows you to change 

the tone of the sound on each input. Do not 

confuse this section with, say, your guitar 

amp’s EQ – these are designed to only enhance 

the frequency range of a guitar. The A & H EQ 

covers the whole of the audio range. 

An EQ section is normally split into ‘bands’ 

which control a range of frequencies, in a 

similar fashion to the treble and bass tone 

controls on your home hi-fi. 

The ZED has 3-band EQ, with a separate 

control for the middle audio frequencies. 

This control is also ‘swept’ which provides 

even more sophistication. Simply described, 

a sweep EQ allows you to choose the exact 

frequency to cut and boost, rather than 

having it chosen for you, 

as on normal “fixed” 

controls. 

• HF EQ gives 

+/-15dB boost or cut, 

with a corner frequency of 12kHz. 

• MF EQ gives +/-15dB boost of cut, 

which has a variable frequency range 

from 120Hz to 4kHz. 

• LF EQ gives +/-15dB cut or boost with 

a corner frequency of 80Hz. 

Auxiliary Section 

Auxes 1 & 2 

Each of these controls sends a signal to an 

auxiliary bus. The signal is sourced pre-fade 

which means that the level is independent of, 

and unaffected by the fader. Auxes 1 & 2 are 

primarily used for foldback monitoring 

purposes, as the fader does not affect the 

level. They can also be used as feeds for 

recording and are available sources to the 

USB interface for this purpose. These sends 

are affected by the Mute switch, so muting 

the channel will also mute the Aux sends. 

Input Path. The control varies the signal level 

to the bus from off (fully attenuated) to 

+6dB, with unity gain at the arrow. 

There are master level controls for the Aux 1 

& 2 outputs situated in the master section of 

the mixer. 

Auxes 3 & FX 

These are post-fade sends, which means that 

the signals are affected by the channel fader. 

Primarily used for effects sends, the aux 

signal will reduce if the fader is pulled down, 

so keeping the correct proportion of the 

effect. Muting the channel will also mute the 

Aux sends, and the send controls have 6dB 

gain fully clockwise. There are no master level 

controls for Aux 3 & 4 outputs. 

Let me explain pre- and post- fader. The 

signal applied to the auxiliary or effects 

mixing bus(ses) may be derived before (pre) 

or after (post) the channel's fader. This pre or 

post fader signal still must go through the 

auxiliary or effects send level control before 

it is applied to the aug or efx bus. When an 

auxiliary or effects mix is derived pre fader, 

fader adjustments made to alter the primary 

mix will not affect that auxiliary mix. Only 

the send level control adjusts this mix. Post 

fader auxiliary or effects sends are still 

subject to the send level control, but they 

also track fader changes. 

Post fader sends are often used for feeding 

echo or reverb devices because one generally 

wants the echo sound to fade out when 

the channel is faded out of the 

mix. Sometimes, for special 

effects, one may prefer a 

pre fader echo send; 

when the 

channel is 

faded, its echo 

component 

lingers until the echo 

send control is turned down, 

giving the appearance of a sound 

moving off ‘into the distance’. 

Auxiliary mixes for stage monitoring or 

sub-mixes for remote use are generally 

derived pre fader. In this way, channel 

fader adjustments that are intended to fine 

tune the main house mix will not distract 

performers on stage or cause inappropriate 

imbalances in broadcast or recording feeds. 

It is important to remember that performers 

on stage use their monitor mixes to judge 

their own playing or vocal dynamics, and the 

balance between band members. If these 

balances are arbitrarily changed during a 

performance because the mixing engineer 

is attempting to alter the house mix and 

the monitor feeds happen to be derived 

post fader, the entire performance will be 

adversely affected. 

On the other hand, there may be exceptions, 

particularly in small clubs where the stage 

monitor speakers spill into the audience to 

a large extent, where compromises must be 

accepted, and the stage monitor mix is best 

done post fader. 

PAN (Panoramic Control) 

The pan control adjusts how the signal from 

the mono input channel is shared between 

the left and right buses and subsequently the 

main stereo outputs. Set to the mid position, 

equal amounts of signal are fed to left and 

right, with pan set to L, none is sent to the 

Right bus. 

A pan pot is nothing more than a pair of 

specially tapered pots (level controls) wired 

back-to-back so that as the level going out of 

one pot increases, the level going out of the 

other decreases. In sound system applications, 

it is desirable to taper the resistance elements 

in the two sections of the pan pot so that 

when the pot is centred, the output level 

from each section is 3 dB less than it would 

be if the pot were turned all the way up for 

the individual section (all the way to one side). 

The total POWER then coming out of the 

loudspeaker system will be the same with 

the pot centred as with the pot to one side 

or the other (two amplifiers each producing 

3 dB less than full power equal the same as 

one amplifier producing full power). 

PFL & PK! LED 

The PFL (Pre-Fade Listen) switch sends the 

channel signal to the PFL bus and subsequently 

to the headphones and the main L R meters. 

Used for checking the audio signal before 

raising the fader or un-muting the channel. 

The PK! LED illuminates dimly to indicate the 

PFL switch is pressed, and brightly to indicate 

the channel signal is within 5dB of clipping. 

Fader 

This determines the level of the input signal 

within the mix and provides a visible 

indication of channel level. All A&H desks 

come with 100mm travel faders which provide 

greater control snd smoother response than 

the limited 60mm travel faders often fitted to 

budget concious mixers. 

Mute Switch 

This mutes or cuts the signal to the left and 

right buses and the Aux buses. A rectangular 

LED illuminates to show the Mute switch is 

pressed. 

NEXT ISSUE 

Okay, Kevin’s talked you down through a 

channel strip on the excellent Allen & Heath 

ZED22FX. In the next Gear, he looks at stereo 

operation, how to introduce the onboard desk 

effects into your mix, and the all-important 

output control section on your desk. 

ALLEN&HEATH 

www.allen-heath.co.uk 

31

With his most recent single, 'Broken Strings' already having been a longtime fixture in both the 

national and international music and download charts, young singer/songwriter James Morrison has 

also been enjoying a welcome reception to his songs whilst touring over in the USA. 

After years spent playing cover songs in the earlier part of 

the decade, Morrison decided to push ahead with his own 

material, and in 2006 his distinctive soulful vocal style 

broke through with his self-penned debut single, 'You Give 

Me Something'. This was followed by a huge response to 

the ensuing debut album, ironically titled 'Undiscovered', 

which by the end of that year had sold over a million copies, 

notching up three BRIT Award nominations along the way. 

Continued single success with songs like 'The Pieces 

Don't Fit Anymore' and 'You Make It Real' led up to 

the release of his second album, 2008's 'Songs For 

You, Truths For Me', with James also fitting in 

some very popular high-profile concert and festival 

appearances alongside his own tours in the interim 

period, all helping to make James very much a 

household name as a performing artist. 

James Morrison (left) buddies up with Fishman's 

Director Of Marketing & Artist Relations, Chris 

DeMaria at James' recent sold-out acoustic show 

in Boston, Mass. on his current USA tour. 

RARE EARTH 

Active Soundhole Pickup 

FISHMAN RARE EARTH PICKUP 

As an essentially acoustic performer, James' sound is very important to 

his show – as such, he chooses to use Fishman's high performance Rare 

Earth Humbucking active magnetic soundhole pickup as his primary 

signal source. Recently re-voiced and fine tuned for even smoother 

treble response, the Fishman Rare Earth HB unit features cutting-edge 

neodymium magnets for a warmer and more natural full acoustic tone, 

with excellent string-to-string balance characteristics; the perfect 

complement to James' warm and soulful vocal style, in fact! 

60’s-inspired diminutive Danelectro Hodad 

Mini Amp just wants to rock – in style! 

Sometimes, you just have to pick up an electric guitar, 

plug it in and play, don’t you? Whether it’s to play 

along with songs you’re listening to on your laptop, 

for instance, or if you simply need to express the anarchy 

in your soul during during the Monday morning corporate 

conference call to the Manchester office... Whenever that 

time is, the brand new amp from Danelectro, the Hodad Mini 

Amp, will rock your world – no matter what the occasion! 

• Model: DH1 • 340gms Weight 

• 133mm (w), 120mm (h), 63mm (d) 

Danelectro’s new Hodad is a real little looker, featuring a triangular-esque shaped exterior, 

not seen since the introduction of those now highly-desirable combos that many British 

guitarists cut their playing teeth on, way back in the dawn of very early 60’s beat groups! 

The Hodad’s handsome traditionally-hued two-tone cabinet will enhance the decor of 

any house or office, and it takes up hardly any space on your desk or table top! 

So what’s this little beauty got to offer? Well, it’s a powerful mini amp for practice or 

back stage tune-ups, and its novel twin speaker format angles the sound in a divergent 

fashion, giving a big spread of sound – relatively speaking, of course. 

Check out the Hodad’s control layout – jack in the top, and the larger rotaries offer 

Tone, Gain and On/Off/Vol (with 'LED On' status), plus 

(because it's Danelectro!) a cool Echo effect AND a 

vintage-toned Tremolo – with adjustable speed! 

The Danelectro Hodad Mini Amp costs £39.99 rrp. 

Or, the ‘Dead On ‘58’ Longhorn, 

as Danelectro have it, is coming this 

summer. But it’s a classic either way, 

with all the characteristic Dano 

details – Copper Burst finish, ‘50s 

‘pointer’ style top controls on the 

two Volume/Tone dual concentrics, 

twin warmed-up alnico Lipstick 

pickups... so cool. 

Anyone can wear and play this 

bass because it’s a short 

scale instrument, weighs 

hardly anything an you’ve 

got full access to all 23 

frets! Always a favourite 

with cool bass players, 

the Longhorn retails 

at £319.00. 

Check out the Dano 

range at www.jhs.co.uk 

32

O 

ne thing with any new album 

from blues stalwart Gwyn 

Ashton, is to expect the 

unexpected. Gwyn’s hi-energy approach 

to the blues will always be present on 

the tracks of course, along with his 

trademark gritty bar room vocal style - 

and plenty of driving guitar, naturally. 

But even by Gwyn’s standards, this is 

definitely taking a gamble. The new 

album is called Two Man Blues Army, 

and a two man blues army is what it 

is, no mistake. As you line up 

the CD for the first track, you’re 

thinking, “Will a duo have the 

firepower to do what’s expected 

...?’ Will it ever - the album 

simply roars into life with a 

raucous onslaught of soupy, 

swampy, scruff-of-the-neck, 

revved-up Hendrix-y electric 

guitar, as the appropriatelytitled 

‘Meltdown At The Hoo’ 

hits top gear and hammers 

away at your senses! 

This we like - in fact, the 

whole album of killer tunes 

Vintage Advance AV6 £379.00rrp 

Veteran blues-rocker Gwyn Ashton returns 

with a Two Man Blues Army to launch a new 

attack on the blues! 

represents a definite melding 

of traditional blues-meets-the-21st 

century. Not just in the stripped-down, 

guitar and drums power duo approach to 

the songs, but the fact that the album was 

also recorded at Hoo Farm Industrial Estate 

in Kidderminster, on Gwyn’s Apple Mac laptop, 

before being engineered and mastered by 

David Mitson, whose CV states that he 

was the chief studio engineer in Sony’s 

Mastering Suite in Los Angeles for some 

15 years and worked with the biggest 

artiste names in the world. 

RECORDING TWO MAN BLUES ARMY 

“We used three mics on the kit, two on 

my amp and a DI for the octave pedal,” 

recalls Gwyn, ”and recorded most of it 

live with my amp baffled off by a desk 

but still bleeding into the drum mics. 

I guess that gave it the big guitar 

sound we got,” Ashton reports on 

the recording process. “After recording 

in studios all my life it was kinda 

funky to be doing something like this. 

We weren’t, like, trying to beat the clock 

to get it done quickly. It’s the most 

relaxed I’ve felt recording, with 

virtually no pressure to get out of 

the building because someone else 

had booked the studio the next day.” 

An extensive playing history 

includes opening for blues 

legends such as BB King and 

Buddy Guy to sharing the stage 

and recording with members of 

Rainbow, Black Sabbath and 

Danelectro DC59 £229.00rrp 

Whitesnake, Gwyn needed to call on 

all his experience to make the power 

duo format work - especially as the 

first performance with the duo 

inadvertently took place in front 

of 14,000 festival goers in Germany. 

Why ‘inadvertently’? Well, his bass 

player had disappeared the previous 

day, so Ashton and his drummer 

appeared as a duo, finalising the 

song arrangements in an onsite 

caravan 30 minutes before their set! 

Having amassed quite an arsenal of 

working guitars, Gwyn’s a big fan of 

his Laguna Blue Vintage Advance 

AV6 with its 3 x stacked P90 

pickups, and his 

Danelectro DC59......... 

Gwyn on his Danelectro 

DC59 "I love old guitars and 

this one feels as good - 

looks the part, too. 

Great sparkle from 

the lipsticks when I 

hit the strings with 

a bottleneck..." 

Check Gwyn out on his 

My Space page at 

myspace.com/gwynashtonmusic 

and at www.gwynashton.com 

Gwyn on his Vintage AV6 

"This guitar goes from Junior ® to Strat ® in a split-second, with a bit 

of extra obtainable growl. By cranking the bottom tone control you 

can actually blend the coils and dial in more windings, making the 

pickups humbucking. Cool!" 

33

KUSTOM ‘DOUBLE CROSS’ AMP 

Expanding its already-impressive USA all-valve amplification range, Kustom has introduced the Double 

Cross - a world-class, all-valve 3-channel guitar head. Ray Boyd reckons it’s time to buu-uu-rrnnn..! 

Designed by noted amp builder James 

Brown (the subject of a major Gear 

interview in the past) the 100 watt 

Kustom Double Cross boldly re-defines 

high-gain guitar amplification, with a broad 

spectrum of stunning new tones and usermodified 

features. The Double Cross consists 

of three distinctively voiced channels: 

Rhythm, Lead I and Lead II. Each Lead channel 

can be modified by users via four separate 

function switches which are located at the 

four end points of a ‘Cross’ design on the 

front control panel. These switches are not 

simply EQ parameters; instead, each uniquely 

blends additional 12AX7 valve stages, letting 

players actually alter the gain/EQ/Attack 

structure of their preamps - modifications 

usually not offered to 

consumers unless they 

take their amplifier 

to a knowledgeable 

technician to be 

permanently modded. 

The two Lead channels 

are voiced differently, 

with Lead I catering 

to a modern heavy 

tone and Lead II 

crafted for a more 

high-gain ‘cranked 

amp’ lead tone. The 

four switches on each Cross are: (1) Bright, 

which alters the tone to enhance high-end 

response and tighten the low end; (2) Gain, 

which boosts the preamp gain; (3) Tight 

Stage: which adds chunky, vintage-style gain 

like a classic amp when fully cranked; (4) 

Thick Stage: offers rich, aggressive tonal 

qualities with complex harmonic content. 

These four functions may be activated, 

omitted and blended in any combination 

to create a wider choice of tones than any 

other high-gain amp on the market. 

High Gain 

“Having worked on high-gain amps for years, 

I always noticed how adding more gain usually 

causes so much compression that you lose 

all your dynamics and note definition,” 

explains Kustom amp guru, Brown. “Although 

the Double Cross offers tremendous amounts 

of gain and distortion, it adds the extra 

tubes (valves) in a new way that doesn’t 

change your dynamics or sacrifice the touch 

sensitivity, regardless of the amp’s settings.” 

All three channels of the Double Cross provide 

separate Gain and Volume controls - 

a standard Kustom feature - as well as 

independent Bass, Middle, Treble and 

Presence controls. There is also a global 

Master Volume and a Boost Volume control 

34 

that can be activated with the Double Cross’s 

5-function rugged metal footswitch (included). 

A speaker cabinet-emulated Direct Out, 

drawn from Kustom’s Coupe Series amps, has 

now evolved to offer two signal options; (1) 

the tonal colouration provided by a 

Celestion Vintage 30 speaker-loaded 

straight-front 4x12 cabinet or (2) the 

distinct sound of a slant-front, Vintage 30- 

loaded front 4x12”. The rich, punchy tone of 

Kustom’s DI signal has been much revered by 

professional musicians and is now even more 

effective. 

Other special Double Cross features include 

an all-valve footswitchable effects loop; 

a 6L6 / EL34 bias switch if you decide to 

change the type of output valves you use 

for a different tonality; a ‘Tight’ input jack 

that actually tightens the attack response 

of the entire amplifier system... Also, the 

5-function footswitch activates each channel, 

Boost function and effects loop, with 

individual Send and Return gain controls. 

The Double Cross is obviously designed 

to offer the maximum amount of control 

possible over each facility - neat. 

In Use 

It’s impossible not to get straight to Lead II 

and go for it, to hear all the Double Cross’ 

tone circuits in action as designer Brown 

intended. Into a Kustom Coupe 4 x 12 and 

it’s a flippin’ massive sound, too - drop the 

low E string on your guitar down a tone to 

D, plug into the ‘Tight’ input jack and the 

low downs guts in the sound really flaps 

your flares and then some, but it all sounds 

very contained at the same time, especially 

with rapid fire double string style riffing on 

the D and A strings. Being able to fine tune 

your sound with the switches on each 

Double Cross symbol point is a nice touch. 

It’s especially useful live on stage when 

you’re trying to find the ‘sweet spot’ in your 

amp’s sound, though each of the three channels 

has its own EQ, Presence, Gain and Volume 

controls alongside a Master Volume and 

Boost rotary on the front panel, too. 

‘Being able to fine tune your sound with the switches 

on each Double Cross symbol point is a nice touch’ 

But such high gain shenanigans are to 

deny the versatility of the Double Cross. 

I’ve always found Kustom’s all-valve amps 

to have an attractive clean channel sound, 

as with my own 72 Coupe, dynamic and 

responsive, exactly the case with the DC. 

Single coil chord voicings and lead runs 

are tracked beautifully by the amp and the 

headroom available keeps it all 

sounding smooth. Up the Gain 

though and experiment with 

the available midrange and 

you’ve also got a terrific 

‘crunch’ sound - for Country 

Rock guitar work this is 

an exciting, edgy, dry tone 

for rhythm and lead tasks, 

clear and articulate. Use a 

humbucker-equipped guitar 

on this setting, select the 

Drive and Bright tone switches 

and you’ve definitely moved 

into Angus territory! Incidentally, the user’s 

manual provides some useful reference settings 

to get you into the tonal ballpark for a 

variety of different amp sounds across all 

three channels. 

Conclusion 

Retailing at £1,999.00, it ain’t pocket 

money to buy nor, having read this far, 

would you expect it to be. But, other 

specialist boutique amps retail for far in 

excess of that sum and there’s no doubt 

that, in comparison, the Kustom Double 

Cross is an awesome representation of what 

valve power can do in terms of performance, 

dynamics and harmonics. Alongside its other 

onboard facilities. It’s usefully versatile with 

a number of extremely useful innovations. 

It’s a superbly musical tool in the right 

hands, great name and we all think it looks 

the absolute bol... er, business!

F 

ormed in Chicago in the midnineties 

when singer David Draiman 

met up with three musician friends 

who were already a gigging outfit, 

guitarist Dan Donegan, bassist Steve ‘Fuzz’ 

Kmack and drummer Mike Wengren, 

Disturbed’s career took off around 2000 

with the release of their debut album, The 

Sickness. They then gained a slot on the 

then-annual mega-metal high profile USA 

‘Ozzfest’ tour in 2001, headlined by Ozzy 

Osbourne and his band, before themselves 

becoming one of the hardest-working 

bands in the hard rock arena, Disturbed 

have since gone on to be a multi-platinum 

selling band with a huge and extremely 

loyal following. With a new album out, 

‘Indestructible’, Disturbed are well into 

their current ‘Music As A Weapon’ tour. 

Gear caught up with bassist John Moyer, 

who replaced original bass player Kmack, 

and who’s become quite a feature in the 

band with his rock-solid, thundering bass 

lines and charismatic stage presence. 

“We’re a little over half way through the 

‘Music Is A Weapon’ tour,” explains John. 

“It’s Disturbed’s flagship tour, and we do 

it with every album cycle. This is when 

we get to bring out all of our toys, get 

the best bands we can on the bill, and 

go for it!” 

As Disturbed go out for such extended 

periods of time, does it get difficult to 

maintain the level of intensity and 

attitude that the band is known for 

every night? 

“We’ re coming up on a year out on the road 

now, maybe a couple of months left to go 

before we close the doors and start work on 

a new album, but at the beginning of a tour, 

yes, it’s all fresh and you’ve got all these 

new songs that you can’t wait to go out and 

play! On a long tour, maybe after a year we 

have to sometimes figure out ways to keep 

that freshness.” 

Disturbed do some very big shows - 

does the band have extensive pre-tour 

rehearsals with the stage show ? 

“We don’t do a whole lot of rehearsal. 

We all know how the songs are meant to 

sound. We play so much together in the studio 

or onstage anyway, that we all 

know what’s going on. We’ll sometimes 

change the set list to shake it up a bit for 

us, throw in new songs. Half an hour before 

we go onstage, Dan, our guitar player might 

say, hey, let’s put such and such a number 

in the set as well!” 

The band’s fan base seem to grow 

significantly every year - does that 

have an impact on how you pace 

your shows? 

“In Europe, we’re still building our fan 

base and we feel that recently it’s gone to 

another level for us there while we’ve been 

playing festivals. We like the big arena 

rock sound, that whole vibe. David is a 

great frontman and he loves the big stage, 

and makes sure everyone has a great time, 

making everyone putting their fists in the 

air, or pointing their devil horns in the sky, 

just getting into it! The bigger the crowd, 

the more intense performance you get from 

us. We came to fruition doing the nu-metal 

scene, and we got lumped in with that but 

we don’t have DJ’s and a lot of that scene 

doesn’t exist anymore - I think that’s 

because our fans are across the board. 

If you like hard rock and heavy metal, 

you can get what we’re doing.” 

Who inspired you to start playing? 

“One of my main inspirations when I started 

playing was Duff McKagan from Guns N’Roses 

- I’m a huge Duff fan! Plus Billy Gould from 

Faith No More, and then Metallica in general. 

Plus a lot of Black Sabbath and Geezer 

Butler! Geezer wrote some great stuff, and 

he has that loose, fluid vibe when he plays, 

which makes the band’s sound really big.” 

John has recently been working with 

Kustom to produce Signature 

Series amplifiers, which 

feature John’s personal 

‘Skull & Flames’ graphics 

on their grilles - very cool. 

What was John looking for 

from Kustom for his sound? 

“I wanted a big, round, heavy 

tone that was really tight 

because a lot of what we play 

in Disturbed is very fast and 

I really need to hear the 

articulation of the notes. 

When I play Kustom amps I 

get that - from note to note, 

there’s no bleed or run-over 

from the last note into the next 

one. The notes are clean, tight 

and defined. Low end frequencies can be 

hard for some amps to handle, especially 

when you’re moving quickly on the fretboard. 

When I’m doing real fast runs, it’s still 

punchy and still clean and the Kustom tone 

is round and deep with that little bit of 

colour in it that I really like. My Kustom 

speaker cabinets also have great spread on 

them, they’re not directional in projection 

so you get an even spread of bass sound. 

You can stand right in front of it and get 

the sound but if you go off to the right or 

left, it’s still there - most other cabs won’t 

do that.” 

Do you like to play with loud onstage 

volume? 

I have a medium sound level onstage, with 

four 8 x 10” cabinets in use, powered by two 

Kustom amp heads - and that’s a lot of bass 

sound (laughs) - I don’t turn it up too loud, 

I don’t have to! If you have too much low 

end onstage, it’s difficult for the sound 

engineer to do his job because your bass 

sound is bleeding into all the drum mics 

and vocal mics! We use in-ear monitors 

onstage anyway so we can all hear each 

other very well.” 

It’s good that your signature bass range 

also includes the John Moyer KBA 

16XJM practice combo - many people 

overlook the fact that that’s where most 

people who want to learn will start! 

(Laughs) yeah - good point! Not many 

people start with an 8 x 10” cabinet! Even 

guys who play in club bands aren’t using 

8 x 10” cabinets - that’s a full concert rig 

for sure. But my Kustom KBA16XJM practice 

amp, I use it every single day. It doesn’t 

matter if you’re a beginner or a professional, 

you’ve got to have a practice amp. I got 

mine in my dressing room, and every day 

I’m jamming out or warming up on it. The 

16 watt is a small unit but has a really good 

tone in it, it’s quite powerful for its size. I’m 

really pleased with how that turned out.” 

• KBA16XJM £139.00rrp 

35

With the PREMIUM PR:O line, HK AUDIO has raised 

the bar for modular sound reinforcement systems 

for musicians. Alongside excellent audio quality, 

this line of speaker cabinets offers a rich feature 

set ordinarily found exclusively on very pricey pro 

equipment. Until now, that is. Like all HK AUDIO® 

products, PREMIUM PR:O is all about well-balanced, 

transparent sound and controlled power. 

Now a passive 2 x 10” PRO210 subwoofer (£519 rrp) 

and an active version, the 2 x 10” PRO210SA 

(£849 rrp) have joined the range, further 

increasing the versatile yet compact attributes 

of the range. 

Meantime, 

weatherproof 

covers (they’ll 

be needed!) are 

now available 

for the existing 

cabs in the PR:O 

range, typically 

priced around 

the £30 mark. 

l PRO210 

DC59 STILL A CLASSIC 

Well, we just love Danelectros at Gear, don’t we? Why? They’re 

just brill, that’s why, okay? For such ridiculously inexpensive 

instruments, they certainly punch way above their weight and 

sound amazing in many different types of music. For a perfect example, 

a certain Mr Mark Knopfler, guitar hero to the cognoscente, enjoys 

spending time with a Danelectro DC59 double cut, in the classic 

Jimmy Page (oops, there’s another famous Dano name) style black 

body/white scratchplate finish. And, like Jimmy, boy does he make 

it sound like something very special – check it out on Mark’s 

collaborative DVD concert performance with Emmylou Harris, ‘Real 

Live Roadrunning’, and watch a Danelectro in the hands of a master. 

And now, even better – later this year we’ll again see the 12-string 

version of the fab Dano double cut! Gear editor Gibson Keddie has 

used one of these Dano 12-string beauties for almost 

10 years now, and comments that no end of people 

at gigs have commented on its superb sound. 

“Unlike some other electric twelves, there’s actually 

room on the fretboard to properly finger out all the 

chords and the between-string spacing is just right 

with enough clearance for the back-picking you 

need to do to get that classic 60’s 12-string 

sound,” he points out. 

The legendary DC59 retails at a mere £229, 

while the 12-string version will cost £329 rrp. 

Don’t miss getting one this time around! 

DES HORSFALL 

Des Horsfall made his debut as a solo recording artist in 1995 on 

fledgling London label Southbound Records with his first commercial 

album release, ‘Easy Road’. The album was produced by highly respected 

fellow Yorkshireman, songwriter and producer Jon Strong at Tube 

Studios in Leeds. The album established Des 

as a mainstream Country-Rock artist and 

gained him popularity and recognition 

among the Country and Roots Music 

communities. His videos enjoyed heavy 

rotation on Country Music Television and 

VH-1, whilst the album received substantial 

radio airplay including Bob Harris and 

Nick Barraclough shows on BBC Radio 2. 

Des subsequently worked the stage 

with such artists as Joe Ely, Steve 

Earle, Emmylou Harris, Little Feat 

and many others. 

36 

AND KUSCHTY RYE 

The end of the nineties saw 

Des working with producer 

Gary Hall on his second 

studio album ‘Mixed Grill’ 

which forayed more into 

‘Roots/Rock’, adding 

Blues and Folk influences 

to the mix. 

After touring Mixed Grill with his band 

‘Fallen Horses’ Des entered the new 

Millennium with a live 

album ‘Breathing the 

Same Air’ produced by 

Gary Nattrass. Intrigued, and with 

a desire to learn the secrets of the 

‘Dark Arts’, Des studied recording 

and production techniques at Leeds 

College of Music where he attained a degree 

in Music Production. He subsequently built 

and equipped his own analogue recording 

studio (Valve Studios) which is now first choice to a growing number 

of musicians and bands who are beating a path to his door. 

Des is currently putting the finishing touches to his latest studio 

album ‘Leave ‘em Wanting More’, under the watchful eye of ‘rising-star’ 

producer/engineer Andy Bell who has recently worked with Seasick 

Steve, Teenage Fanclub, Kerfuffle, and many other Folk and Roots artists. 

“...my Vintage resonator 

ticks all the right boxes” 

Looking for a slightly different sound on this recording, Des plumped 

for the Vintage VRC800BK resonator guitar to capture some authentic 

slide and blues tones. "I like to try to create as many textures as 

possible both live and in the studio" he explains, "and my Vintage 

resonator ticks all the right boxes" 

Des will be touring solo, duo and with his new band Kuschty Rye 

throughout 2009 and beyond. www.myspace.com/deshorsfall

RAZORLIGHT'S 

WITH 

Razorlight’s Anglo-Swedish 

line-up has proved to be a 

great success, and the band 

now rightfully enjoy headline 

act status. Gear catches up with 

RL’s influential drummer, the 

talented Mr Andy Burrows! 

Formed in London in 2002 around 

vocalist/guitarist Johnny Borrell and 

guitarist/vocalist and Swedish ex-pat 

Björn Ågnen, Razorlight were then 

joined by bassist Carl Dalemo and drummer Christian Smith-Pancorvo. After Smith-Pancorvo 

left, he was replaced by Andy Burrows in time to celebrate the release of the Razorlight's 

official debut album from 2004, the hugely successful and much-loved, Up All Night. 

Thanks to a mixture of sparky, offbeat but catchy tunes, not to mention an unshakeable 

belief in their own abilities and appeal, Razorlight continued to surf the wave of popularity 

all the way to the release of their second self-titled album in 2006, augmented by tours 

in their own right alongside high profile support gigs with bands 

such as Queen + Paul Rodgers and longtime 

Britpop giants, Oasis. 

l Reco Reco 

Slipway Fires 

Meantime, Burrows has definitely made his mark 

on the band in more ways than one; alongside 

his inventive and intuitive percussive skills he has 

contributed notable songs such as the smash hit America 

and co-writing Before I Fall To Pieces with 'Light frontman, 

Johnny Borrell – talented boy! 

Now the Anglo-Swedish indie rock outfit has returned with their long-awaited 

third album, Slipway Fires. The dynamic new album sees lead singer Johnny Borrell and his 

bandmates incorporate a raw, edgier rock dynamic to their already recognisable and 

acclaimed sound with a collection of songs stripped down to basic raw emotion. 

Back on tour again, Andy Burrows has recently been adding some Rhythm Tech accessories 

to his kit set-up, including the indispensable Mountable Gig Tray, a 13" x 7 1/2" clamp-on 

accessory percussion tray that attaches easily to any stand in a drum set. Improved MGT 

features include foldable accessory hooks which can now be positioned at the front, middle 

or rear of the tray, which now weighs some 30% less than previous models. 

Cowbell 

Rhythm Tech's popular Hat Trick is now also a feature on Andy's kit – basically a tambourine 

designed for mounting in hi-hat pull rods, its ultra-lightweight construction and new 

smaller overall diameter allow intricate tambourine patterns to be played without altering 

the feel of the hi-hat pedal. Lastly – a couple of extremely handy Performance Percussion 

drum stick holders for good measure; percussively practical, of course! 

RT7402 Double Hat Trick 

£31.99 k 

These newer additions to Andy's kit join his existing mounted 

Rhythm Tech ‘Metalworks’ Reco-Reco. Part of the unique 

Pete Engelhart-designed range of metal percussion 

now produced by Rhythm Tech, the unusual 

construction of the Reco-Reco means it is 

capable of some very funky and creative 

percussive sounds. 

Or, as Andy and his drum tech Barnaby 

describe it, “Oh, that cowbell thing with 

the springs on it? We wondered what 

that was called... It's good, though!” 

37

collaboration. "The JHS team has created a line of instruments that 

are well suited for any performance application and deliver great 

value for money," he continues, before summarising with "We are 

confident that the Vintage/Fishman partnership will yield many 

more fine instruments in the future." 

With a variety of additions to the acclaimed range 

of high-spec Vintage acoustic and electro-acoustic 

guitars, the news gets even better as the new electros 

are equipped with Fishman pickups and preamps! 

Designed to offer all the levels of specification, materials, options and 

– most importantly – playing performance expected from guitars which 

belong in higher price brackets, Vintage acoustics and electro-acoustics 

continue to offer a comprehensive selection of fine-looking, fine-playing 

instruments, models which any guitarist would certainly be proud to own. 

Tone-enhancing premier quality solid tops are a standard feature on 

all Vintage acoustic and electro-acoustic guitars, alongside a choice 

of superior tonewoods which make up the back and sides of each 

instrument. Whether in a carefully selected laminate or a solid 

tonewood such mahogany or rosewood along with elegantly-shaped 

and crafted instrument necks, Vintage guitars are designed to offer 

maximum player comfort. 

VALUE FACTOR 

And now, upping the ‘value factor’ even more given that there is no 

attendant retail price increase, all new Vintage electro-acoustics in 

the range will now feature pickup and preamp systems from legendary 

American acoustic amplification experts, Fishman fitted as standard. 

For many years, Fishman's unwavering goal of 

acoustic excellence has resulted in not only 

their heralded position as the world's #1 

specialist in acoustic amplification, but 

also no less than 30 patents awarded by 

the US Patent Office. 

Great stuff! So here are the new models – acoustic and electro-acoustic 

– that have been added to the Vintage line-up. Remember too, that 

for optimum performance, all Vintage acoustics and electros are 

factory-fitted with high-quality USA-manufactured strings. 

Vintage V200NC 

A perfect example of Vintage’ high spec applications, this curvy 39” 

acoustic will surely prove to be quite a tone machine, featuring as 

it does a solid cedar top matched to solid mahogany back and sides. 

A rosewoood fingerboard sits on a mahogany neck, and the use of an 

abalone rosette is a nice detail touch, while the satin natural finish 

allows the cedar to resonate and breathe, further increasing the 

V200NC’s balanced response and smooth inherent tones. 

Truly excellent value at £199.00 rrp. 

Vintage VE900MH 

A Grand Auditorium-sized cutaway-bodied electro-acoustic in mahogany 

makes for an impressive-looking guitar. If you fancy standing out from 

the crowd with a guitar which present the distinctive grain patterns 

of mahogany to its best effect, this is the way to go. Equipped with 

Fishman’s Ion+ preamp system that big, rounded 

tone from the all mahogany construction will 

sound just as pleasing when the guitar is 

plugged in to an amp or a desk. £229.00 rrp. 

V700VSB 

VGA900N 

V700N 

VE900MH 

“We are very proud to collaborate 

with JHS on their Vintage range of 

electro-acoustic guitars," is Larry 

Fishman's enthusiastic response to 

this exciting new Vintage/Fishman 

Vintage V700’s 

The exaggerated curves of the 

hugely traditional jumbo guitar 

body shape also remain a firm 

favourite with many players – these are 

big (41”) guitars with a correspondingly 

big sound, making it an ideal instrument for accompaniment, and is 

especially good with strummed chords. The V700N offers a solid spruce 

top with a high gloss finish, matched to flame maple veneered back 

and sides with a more tactile satin finish. The traditional looks of this 

style of acoustic are augmented by the multi-ply black and white binding 

and attractive abalone rosette work, finished off with a mock tortoiseshell 

scratchplate. Available in Natural & Vintage Sunburst. £299.00 rrp. 

Vintage VGA900’s ‘Sweetwater’ 

If you like your guitars to project and have a real physical presence, 

this Vintage 41” Grand Auditorium cutaway-bodied electro should 

38

certainly be on your shopping list. With a solid spruce top matched 

to mahogany back and sides, there’s a lot of wood adding to the 

impressive tonal qualities of this guitar. Additional attractive detail 

touches include understated rosewood binding beside multiple black 

and white purfling, with contrasting abalone rosette work. Rosewood 

is the bridge material, with rosewood featuring further as neck binding. 

The imposing natural-finish high-gloss top VGA900N features pickups 

and preamp courtesy of Fishman, this time in the form of an Ion+ 

preamp with a Fishman Sonicore undersaddle pickup as the sound 

source. Excellent value at £249.00 rrp. Featuring the 

same specification, build and electronics as the 

VGA900N, this time available in an attractive 

Sunburst finish with mock tortoiseshell 

scratchplate, also costing £249.00 rrp. 

plenty of room for an easy playing style with 

open ringing chords matched by crisp detail on 

single note lines too. The natural-finish V1200N 

is an electro-acoustic model, and features 

Fishman’s higher-spec Aero Blend preamp, 

with Fishman 

Sonicore 

pickup, 

Grover 

tuners 

and retails 

at £399 rrp. 

VEC1400-12 

VEC1900N 

V1200N 

VGA900SB 

Vintage V1200N 

Another Grand Auditorium model, 

this time featuring an elegant 

Florentine style cutaway, marked by 

its pointed leading edge, as opposed 

to the more ‘conventional’ rounded edge 

cutaway design. The V1200N offers a classic, high-spec tonewood 

combination, where the expansive solid spruce top is mated this time 

to solid mahogany back and sides, with the low-mid tonal bias of the 

mahogany adding body and fullness to the brighter tone of the guitar’s 

spruce table (top). Attractive rosewood/maple/flame maple forms the 

body binding, whilst elsewhere on the guitar, the overall higher grade 

materials spec means that Indian rosewood is used for the fingerboard 

and ebony the bridge. 

As a 41” Grand Auditorium model, the 648mm scale length leaves you 

Aero Blend Features: 

• Built-in microphone with mic blend control 

• Brilliance control for additional tone shaping 

• Notch, onboard anti-feedback control 

• Smaller footprint than standard size preamps 

• Volume control 

• Bass, Middle and Treble control knobs 

• Phase control button 

• Low battery indicator (9V battery) 

• Flip-top housing to access integrated battery 

compartment 

• Pre-wired Fishman Sonicore pickup 

• Low profile control knobs 

Vintage models equipped with Aero Blend: 

V1200N, VEC1400-12, VEC1500N, VEC1900N 

Good to see a 12-string in this 

new line-up, especially as we’re 

big 12-stringer fans at Gear, whether 

electros like this, or bona fide electrics. 

Being a Dreadnought bodied cutaway, the 

VEC1400-12 is a big old beast with a big old sound to match, 

from its solid spruce top and solid mahogany body, matched to a 

mahogany neck. Available in Natural Satin plus 10% gloss finish, 

with Indian rosewood fingerboard and Indian rosewood bridge, and a 

pleasing multi-ply binding laminate of black/white/abalone/maple. 

Plugged in, the VEC1400-12 will give a huge wash of sound filled 

with ringing harmonics, thanks also to the processing power and 

high quality signal source to the Fishman Aero Blend preamp system . 

£499.00 rrp. 

Vintage VEC1900N 

Vintage VEC1400-12 

Also a Grand Auditorium model with a cutaway style body, the 

VEC1900N has a solid German spruce top in a high-glossed Natural 

finish, mated to solid lacewood (a variable-colour sycamore) back 

and sides, and a mahogany neck. The Indian rosewood fingerboard 

and bridge offer a pleasant understated look, matched by contrasting 

wood binding. As with the other Grand Auditoriums in the new range, 

the VEC1900N is fitted with a Fishman Aero Blend preamp and 

Sonicore pickup as well as Grover machineheads. £549.00 rrp. 

Ion+ Features: 

• Onboard easy to read 7-segment LED tuner 

• Bass & treble controls for enhanced tone shaping 

• Smaller footprint for easy access to controls 

• Volume control 

• EQ shaping control 

• Phase control 

• Low battery indicator (9V battery) 

• Surface mounted battery compartment 

• Pre-wired Fishman Sonicore pickup 

• Low profile control knobs 

Vintage models equipped with Ion+: 

VE900MH, VGA900N, VGA900SB 

Acoustic Amplification 

39

Strength & 

Protection 

...with style 

www.jhs.co.uk 

• Premium Hardshell 

• Deluxe Vintage 

• Regular Hardshell 

• Ultima ABS 

Kinsman ABS & Hardshell Cases 

The ideal combination of protection, strength and integral security. 

Deluxe shaped cases are available in high quality, durable material 

Kinsman cases are precision moulded inside and out to ensure an exact compartment 

fit for each specific type of instrument. 

Introducing the NEW 

Palma Junior Acoustic 

Guitar Pack. 

An ideal introduction 

to playing acoustic 

guitar. Available in 

Natural and three 

other striking 

metallic colours. 

The revolutionary new 

Seiko Stick Tuner. 

ST01 

£11.99rrp 

Auto Chromatic Tuner • 

Stylish Key Ring Design • 

Ultra Compact Size – 6cm Long • 

Easy To Use • 

Chrome Finish Face Plate • 

Auto Tuning Mode • 

Built In Microphone • 

LCD Display • 

Note Indication • 

LED Tuning Guide • 

Tuning Range A0 ˜ C8 • 

Pitch Shift A4=440Hz • 

Auto Power Off • 

Battery Included • 

40

MATTHEW MACAULAY 

Matthew Macaulay's latest album, "As For Me" has been heavily publicised 

as one of the standout Christian worship releases of 2008. 

Produced by Kipper (Sting), it features eleven tracks which not only clearly 

demonstrate Matthew's great songwriting skills, but also his sincerity and 

passion about his faith. 

Raised in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, Matthew took an interest in music 

from an early age. Throughout his teenage years, he learnt the drums 

and guitar and by the age of sixteen, was leading worship at his home 

church, St Andrews Chorleywood. ‘I remember standing at the front 

of church and feeling so sick I could barely think straight’, he says. 

‘I was always so encouraged to play in front of people which I now 

really value – playing in front of so many people week after week 

was a great training, although I’m sure not so great for 

congregations early on!’ 

In order to promote the album Matthew has put 

together a band to begin touring soon, and was looking 

for some new equipment to take out on the road. 

After looking around he came across the wonderfully 

quirky Danelectro Pro guitar in aqua finish. To 

complete his sound he has also added the MXR M132 

Super comp and GT-OD overdrive pedals, and a Diago 

Showman pedal board to keep them safe. 

Matthew says “The Danelectro Pro is the best value for money guitar I 

have owned. It has it's own unique sound and is a pleasure to play, 

I haven't played anything else since it's arrival!” 

2009 will be a busy year for Matthew that includes dates at the Frenzy 

festival at Edinburgh in June. 

Photo: Jon Richards 

KUSTOM 

DART 10 

Sometimes, a practice/rehearsal combo 

is just the thing to keep everybody 

happy. Easy to carry around and just the 

ticket at home, popping it from room to 

room and leave everyone else to watch 

the fascinating evolution of the rural 

saga that is Emmerdale. Kustom’s Dart 10 

is ideal – with twin channels giving you 

lead and rhythm ability and full 3-band 

EQ, plus Reverb and Delay, it’s a little 

corker. Line Out lets you hook it up to a PA desk, 

there’s a headphone jack and CD/tape/mp3 input. 

Smart in black with white piping, it’ll rush you £64.99 rrp. 

CHROME STEEL SLIDES 

There are many different slides out 

there, offering various different tones 

and everyone’s got their own personal 

fave. But if you’re looking for a 

brighter tone from a slide that’s got 

a more comfortable playing weight, 

the new Dunlop 318 and slightly 

larger 320 chromed steel jobs should 

fit the bill. Particularly if you’re into 

‘..aggressive electric playing’ say 

Dunlop. Sounds good to us already. 

£14.99 each, rrp. 

GUITAR TECH HEADPHONE AMP 

As guitarists, we can’t lug a full size amp about with us all the 

time – much as we might like to. So... something more practical, 

perhaps? Like this compact and lightweight Mini Pocket Amp 

Headphone Amplifier from Guitar Tech. And it is truly pocket 

size. Designed to clip on to a belt but with a full size jackplug 

input for easy instrument connection, plug in the supplied 

stereo headphones and you’re set anywhere, anytime. Adjust 

the sound with straightforward Volume and Tone controls, 

and select either of the Clean or Distortion settings to suit. 

Brill, at only £24.99 rrp. Powered by 9v battery (not supplied). 

41

KINSMAN 

KinsmanStands 

Quality & Strength 

with style... 

The ideal combination of strength 

and maximum durability. 

Check out the 

huge range of Stands 

for all types of instruments 

® 

• Guitars • Microphones 

• Speakers • Brass & Woodwind 

• Violins • Keyboards 

• Stools • Music 

www.jhs.co.uk 

ProSound 

Reinforcement Tools 

Range of Equalisers, 

Microphone Splitters, 

Microphone Processors, 

Dynamic Processors, Mixers, 

Digiboxes & Accessories 

www.laaudio.co.uk 

Original British Design 

42

Gigging musician Dave Press didn’t 

really mean to go to such extreme 

lengths to prove quite how reliable 

and robust his Kustom amp was... 

but he found out anyway. 

M 

y name’s Dave Press and I’m a semiprofessional 

musician doing sessions, 

gigs and other shows in London and 

the South East. An event occurred which 

you may find interesting and which is quite 

a testament to the ruggedness of a piece 

of kit that I regularly use... 

Let me explain. Back in November 2008, 

I was driving along on my way to pick up a 

cheque for a show. Before I knew it, my van 

had spun out of control for some reason, 

then went spiralling down a hill and - bang! 

- slammed into the barriers on the hilly side 

of the carriageway, on the left hand side. 

Then, very shaken by the experience and 

trying to get my thoughts together to decide 

what to do now, as I looked up, another 

large van was rapidly bearing down on me, 

also spinning along as I had. Bracing myself, 

the other van slammed into me...Ouch! 

However, we were both physically okay 

as it turns out, but both very shaken. The 

vans weren’t so good - my one was a total 

write-off, and the cause of our crashes 

turned out to be a diesel spill from a truck 

(Oh yes, we know about diesel spills - 

motorcycling Ed who came off on spilt diesel 

on a roundabout...). 

MISSING! 

Meantime, a lot of my equipment and 

gigging gear which was in the back of the 

van was thrown out as I’d spun along. 

Once I’d finally collected my thoughts after 

the crash, I walked around and collected it 

all up. It all seemed okay. So, this had all 

happened on a Thursday and there were 

weekend shows coming and band gigs, 

fortunately all went well. 

The next Thursday I was scheduled to do 

a sit-down acoustic gig, for which I’d 

planned to use my Kustom 100 watt PA. 

But I couldn’t find the PA amp... I thought 

it might be at the rehearsal studio, or at 

home, but no, it seemed to be missing. 

My girlfriend suggested it must still be 

‘There had been six days of rain in the 

interim period during which my amp 

had lain out in the elements...’ 

somewhere around the crash site. I said 

I’d already checked the site after the crash, 

and anyway if it was still there it would be 

ruined as there had been six days of rain in 

the interim period during which my amp had 

lain out in the elements... But she convinced 

me to take another look the day before the 

gig, so we drove down. The crash site was a 

grass verge which bordered a forest and as 

we drove slowly along where the van had 

spun off the road I suddenly spotted the 

amp peeking through 

some nearby bramble 

bushes - you can 

imagine how hard to 

spot that was, no 

wonder I’d missed it! 

I pulled the amp out 

which wasn’t at all easy. 

It was a bit muddy and wet 

and the corners had taken a 

bashing but it looked intact. Anyway 

I took it home and put it in the airing 

cupboard to dry off overnight. Still thinking 

I’d need to organise a replacement unit for 

the gig, I took it out of the cupboard the 

next day, gingerly plugged it in and pressed 

the ‘On’ switch... It was totally fine! I ran 

through a test of all the 

functions, and everything 

worked as it should! 

Amazing. Even more 

amazing, I took it with me 

and used it for the gig 

that night where it was 

100% and gave no trouble. 

RUGGED 

I thought that Kustom 

might like to hear 

about how rugged and robust the kit 

they produce actually is, especially having 

survived the not-often-used ‘thrown from 

a spinning van and left in the mud and 

rain for 6 days’ test! 

Mind you, I can’t quite see magazines 

incorporating this into their review testing 

schedules..but the amp is still working fine 

and I’ve been gigging it relentlessly since 

then - I don’t think anyone could expect 

more from a piece of kit, could they? Well 

done Kustom for performance levels surely 

above and beyond the call of duty! 

KPA80 

PA System 

with 2 mics 

£299.00rrp 

SYS-KPA100 

Profile One 

Complete 

PA System 

£599.00rrp 

SYS-KPA200 

Profile Two 

Complete 

PA System 

£999.00rrp 

KPA80 

43

NEW STRAPS ADDED 

TO GUITAR TECH RANGE 

If you're a guitarist or bass player, you'll know that every so often, you fancy 

changing something in your set-up – but changing instruments is expensive... 

So, one cheap but effective way to get a quick 'change' fix is to get yourself 

a new strap! 

Here are the newest additions to the Guitar Tech range of top 

value for money straps, and pretty cool they look too. 

Made from resilient 2" wide webbing, these straps also 

feature genuine leather end pieces for a secure strap 

button fit. 

l KBA16XJM 

£139 rrp 

Strap slogans – 'Access All Areas', 'Call Security!' 

and that irritating reply so beloved of 

disaffected teenagers everywhere 

– 'Whatever!' Each strap retails 

at only £6.99. 

Kustom have recently been working with John Moyer, acclaimed 

bassist for US multi-platinum selling band, Disturbed. If you 

fancy getting into the John Moyer vibe without spending too 

much cash, Kustom is producing a limited run of easily-affordable 

John Moyer Signature KBA16XJM practice combos! 

These 16 watt combos feature a scaled-down version of the same 

striking JM artwork found on John’s megawatt Kustom bass rig – all in 

a portable amplifier package that’s perfect for warming up backstage 

or working at home or in the studio. The sealed-back cabinet design 

KBA16XJM features a 4-band active EQ, built-in limiter, Celestion speaker and 

an external speaker jack. At only £139.00 rrp, it’s totally wicked! 

44

Here at Gear, we get a fair bit 

of correspondence from, quite 

frankly, rather disgruntled 

left-handed guitarists and 

bassists about the fact that 

their favourite guitars aren’t 

available for them to play. OK 

then - read on! 

It’s never an ideal situation for left 

handers, and at Gear we do sympathise, 

honest we do. We can only nod and agree 

when another claim of unjust disparity pops 

into the inbox. Obviously it’s mainly a 

question of economics, and I’m sure left 

handers everywhere will be groaning at this, 

but it has to be appreciated that the 

additional tooling costs for body and neck 

shaping, plus reverse hardware etc., does 

make it rather an expensive process to 

perform, and for a much more limited market 

if looked at in strict economic terms. 

But now for some good news! Many of the 

most popular Vintage electrics are now 

available in - hooray - left hand format! 

Right, so pick yourself up off the floor and 

let’s have a look at what you can now rush 

off to your local music store and order - at 

these prices, you can’t argue that it’s not 

been worth the wait.... 

And - just before we start, did you know 

that August 13th this year is officially set to 

be Left Handers Day, where you 

can celebrate all things left 

handed! See, we are up on the 

lefty vibe here at Gear after 

all... 

VINTAGE LV100MRPGM 

‘LEMON DROP’ ICON 

Probably the most popular guitar 

in the amazingly popular 

distressed Icon series, the 

Lemon Drop was introduced 

as Trev Wilkinson’s tribute 

to his guitar playing icon, 

Peter Green. Designed to 

look as if it had indeed 

had rather a hard life 

playing the blues in 

many a smokey pub 

and club over the years, 

the Lemon Drop also felt 

the part to play with a 

truly authentic tone, thanks to Trev fitting 

a pair of his carefully-wound PAF-a-like 

humbucking pickups, with their aged nickel 

covers adding subtle colour to the sound. 

With a flame maple-capped mahogany body 

and set-in neck, the value factor of the V100 

is surely immense. And of course, Trev being 

Trev, he’s custom-wired the control circuitry 

to give that distinctive thin bluesy ‘honk’ 

when the selector is mid-position, reminiscent 

of Greeny’s wonderfully nasal tone as heard 

on early Fleetwood Mac songs such as 

‘Need Your Love So Bad’ and ‘Stop Messin’ 

Around’. And the lefty version 

also features the famously 

accurate detailing such as the 

differential bell type control 

knobs, all the famous ‘battle 

scars’, and the sealed gear 

replacement tuners - with ‘original’ 

machine head locating screw 

holes also present - now that’s 

attention to detail! 

This guitar is guaranteed to make 

sure you get the blues and 

lose your ‘no left handers’ 

blues simultaneously! Great 

value at £409.00 rrp. 

VINTAGE LV100CS 

CHERRY SUNBURST 

If you prefer your guitars 

to look ‘as new’ and not 

completely road worn, 

then you might well plump for the 

very new ‘n’ shiny Cherry Sunburst 

left hand V100. Once again, a high 

level of specification means that 

you’ve got a maple-capped solid 

mahogany body with set-in mahogany 

neck, Wilkinson tuners, pickups and 

hardware, etc. Only £289.00 retail 

makes it something of a steal, and it 

joins the existing Tobacco Sunburst 

lefty option in the range. 

VINTAGE LV6MRBK ICON 

BOULEVARD BLACK 

Boulevard Black has proved 

itself to be a popular 

option in the Icon 

range, looking as it 

does like an honestto-goodness, 

long-time hard working 

well-scarred electric guitar. Perhaps 

even that one that was once owned 

by Britain’s #1 guitar god. Perhaps. 

Anyway, lots of pattern scarring, 

and check the wear on that maple 

neck! Again, like its right-handed 

brother, the new left hand 

option is filled with Wilkinson 

goodies to make sure it plays 

and sounds as good as it looks, 

especially at £339.00 rrp. 

VINTAGE LV6MRSSB ICON 

SUNSET SUNBURST 

Another failsafe colour option 

for this type of guitar is the 

good old 3-tone finish, Sunset 

Sunburst which somehow always 

manages to look as good ‘distressed’ 

as it does when it, too, is new and 

shiny. Both options, shiny and now 

distressed, are available, with the 

lefter costing you but £279.00. 

Bargain! 

VINTAGE LVS6VW 

VINTAGE WHITE 

The VS6 remains one of the 

long time best-sellers in the 

Vintage electric guitar range, 

and rightly so - it looks 

great, feels great to play 

and sounds terrific! The 

newest addition to the 

right-handed VS6 line-up 

was the classic late 60’s/70’slooking 

Vintage White version 

introduced towards the end of last year. 

With gold hardware helping to make this a 

distinguished-looking instrument, it’s already 

proving as popular as its established VS6 

brethren. Cool, and here is the left hand 

version looking just as good, especially 

wearing a ridiculously minuscule price tag 

of only £259! Cheap price, certainly not a 

‘cheap’ guitar though. 

VINTAGE LVJ96MRJP 

ICON FRETLESS 

SUNBURST BASS GUITAR 

And no way do left handed bass 

players get forgotten, either. 

This here is one of the funkiest 

basses in the Vintage range. Like 

the Lemon Drop V100, this is 

also a tribute instrument, with 

some neat detailing touches. 

Pattern scarring, fret markers 

and fret lines still there though 

the frets have been 

‘removed’, scratchplate 

also ‘removed’ with location 

holes still present, leaving 

only the chrome control 

plate. 

So, ‘weather’ (sorry) 

you’re a right or left 

handed bass player, you 

can enjoy this so-funky 

bass for only £289.00. 

Amazing! 

45

FISHMAN TO THE FORE AT 

51st GRAMMY ® AWARDS 

Fishman players in a wide variety of musical genres 

and styles were represented in over 30 of the 110 

categories at the 2009 GRAMMY® Awards in 

Los Angeles. 

Leading off the festivities were Robert Plant and Alison Krauss who won 

five GRAMMYs for their collaboration on the hugely successful album, 

Raising Sand, including Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, 

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals, Best Contemporary 

Folk/Americana Album and Best Country Collaboration With 

Vocals. Singer/violinist Krauss and band members Buddy 

Miller (singer/guitarist) and Stuart Duncan (guitar/banjo) are all Fishman players. 

Radiohead, who also use Fishman, earned five nominations for their album In Rainbows, winning 

for Best Alternative Music Album in a category that included Beck, another Fishman artist. 

Jerry Douglas 

Signature AURA Pedal. 

PRO-AIP-JD1 £299.00rrp. 

Longtime Fishman artist and supporter John Mayer also received four GRAMMY® nominations, 

winning two GRAMMYs® for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance and Best Male Pop Vocal 

Performance from his release Continuum, edging out other Fishman users Kid Rock, James Taylor 

and Paul McCartney. 

Fishman endorsee Jerry Douglas, who has his own Signature Series Aura pedal, was also nominated for two 

awards, both for Best Country Instrumental Performance. 

Other Fishman players who won or were nominated for GRAMMYs® included Bela Fleck, The 

Who, Cherryholmes, Brad Paisley, John Jorgenson, Randy Travis, George Strait, Trace Adkins, 

Charlie Louvin, Ricky Skaggs, Rush and Emmylou Harris. 

Acoustic Amplification 

Well, that’s an impressive list of artistes for sure, and congratulations to all! 

GRAMMY® is a registered trademark of The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. 

“Cat Got Your 

Tone?” 

CD1 

Distortion 

£49..99 

CT1 

Tremolo 

£44.99 

“I Hated My Rig” 

“To be honest, I’m hard to please. I’m the one who 

sends the steak back to the kitchen…several times. 

But when it comes to my tone, I’m not just hard to 

please, I’m impossible! 

CM2 

Metal II 

£44.99 

CC01 

Drive 

£34.99 

• True Bypass (3PDT) 

• Metal Case 

• Metal Jacks 

• From £ 34.99rrp 

CF1 

Fuzz 

£44.99 

So not finding the tone I was looking for, I decided to 

create my own. 

Some cats have 9 lives. I’ve got 9 tones. Maybe I’ve 

got yours.” 

CC1 

Chorus 

£54.99 

CM1 

Metal 

£49.99 

The C at 

® 

CT01 

Transparent 

Overdrive 

£44.99 

Cool Cat Board 

Holds 5 “Cats.” 

Includes DC Supply 

and all cables. 

£74.99 

“Finicky About Tone” 

www.coolcattone.com 

FROM 

® 

CV1 

Vibe 

£49.99 

46

• KH95 

Kirk Hammett 

Signature Wah 

O 

kay, here’s a 

real wah hottie! 

Now you can command the same killer 

wah tone as Metallica’s mercurial lead 

guitarist, Kirk Hammett with the new Kirk 

Hammett Signature Wah! Developed in close 

conjunction with the metal guitar icon 

himself, it has been meticulously tuned and 

tweaked to deliver the wah-wah sound that 

totally revolutionised metal solos in the 80’s 

- and for all time to come, even. 

This is the legendary tone that 

Kirk dials in on tour, using his 

DCR1SR Crybaby Rack Wah. 

Dunlop’s engineers took Kirk’s 

EQ, volume and tone settings - 

reflecting decades of blazing 

Crybaby riffology, rock 

students - and reproduced 

them with exacting precision. 

The Kirk Hammett Wah is 

exceptionally even in 

response as you move from 

heel to toe, with a thick top end and 

full dynamic range. 

Cool dark metallic green colour and ‘X-Ray’ 

rocker plate imagery, too, as you'd expect 

from Kirk! 

So, dare you step into – or onto – the 

footprint of a giant? Own a piece of the 

legend – the Kirk Hammett KH-95 Signature 

Wah from Dunlop, priced £249.00 rrp. 

BB MICRO BLASTER Guitarists don’t always need big watts for big fun 

- after all, small is the new big, innit? Enjoy the convenience and high fun factor of having a neat little combo like 

this new BB Micro Blaster around the house or the office to plug into and get playing! Measuring 150mm(h) x 

145mm(d) x 83mm(w), the black textured-finish features a contrasting silver cloth grille and four rubber feet, so it 

certainly doesn’t take up too much space. Two chunky ‘chicken head’ style knobs give you Volume 

and Tone, alongside the main standard jack input on the top panel. The Off/On/Overdrive switch 

sits here too, with a power-on LED sat next to it. On the rear panel, you’ve got a headphone socket 

for silent practice, mp3 input socket, battery compartment (9v battery supplied), and 9v dc in. 

£22.99 rrp means it’s easy on the pocket for this practice amp as well. 

HK AUDIO ESYS EPX - 

Powerful PA Package 

With four powered 15" subwoofers and two powered 12"/1" mid-/high-range units pumping out 

a total of 2,400 watts RMS, the new ESYS EPX certainly lives up to ELIAS rigs’ long tradition of 

delivering the goods. 

Public address doesn’t get any simpler than this – simply stack ‘em and enjoy a big, big sound. 

ESYS EPX is a sound system engineered to delight every ‘Top 40’ band. Easy to transport, it 

sets up and tears down in just a few minutes. And, as far as mains power goes, a little goes a 

long way. This rig delivers lots of power without overloading small venue power supplies, too. 

And, courtesy of its forgiving voicing, soundchecks have rarely been easier or more enjoyable. 

The HK ESYS EPX provides all the acclaimed benefits of the ELIAS 

family. It is flexible enough to be able to position its compact 

components on or next to the stage. It even has a high-end mini 

PA built in for tiny venues – If you’re playing an ‘unplugged’ gig in 

an Irish pub, leave the ESYS EPX bass bins in the rehearsal room 

and take the full range-enabled mid-/high-range units. ESYS EPX 

does so many things so well, but none better than serving the 

needs of bands that play bigger halls, or power DJs who demand 

an all-in-one rig that packs a mighty low-end punch. £4,699.00 rrp. 

® 

47

Phil Thorell and his band "The Force" have a pretty 

good pedigree when it comes to touring and 

gigging. Over the last few years the band have 

supported such luminaries as Steve Vai, Status 

Quo and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The band 

have released two albums "Breakin' Free" 

and "Different Worlds" and in addition 

to countless venues in the UK, the 

band also played Wembley as guests 

of the British Music Show. 

Phil is also a busy teacher, 

splitting his time between 

kids and young adults 

at schools, and private 

tuition. He also took 

part in the "Guitarist Of 

The Year Competition" at Wembley "It was 

a fun weekend," he says smiling, "but 

unfortunately no cigar!" 

Recently, Phil expanded his guitar collection 

to include a Vintage VSA535 semi acoustic 

after reading a review. "I wanted that classic 

semi-solid guitar favoured by the likes of Larry 

Carlton, Alex Lifeson and Eric Johnson. I’d never 

played a guitar like this before, so rather than take a 

chance on the expensive American model, I opted for 

the Vintage. These guitars have a retro-chic about 

them but they can live in both contemporary and 

nostalgic musical settings easily. The diversity of 

tones from the Vintage 535 is ideal for my style of 

playing. I like to back off the volume controls and 

switch pickups often to soften up the sounds for 

blues and jazz, then open it all the way up to get a 

blistering full modern rock tone. The 535 does all of 

that yet it still keeps its dignity and its identity 

throughout." 

Many of Phil's students have Vintage guitars ranging 

from VS6 to the V100, TC200 and V6 models. "It’s 

great that they can see their teacher using the same 

brand as them, and us all being just as satisfied. 

Regardless of price, the quality of components and 

manufacturing, as well as the sound of these instruments 

are all excellent. Most importantly the guitars feel 

nice to play. They feel like pro instruments not cheap 

copies like some other manufacturers churn out." 

You can find out more about Phil and the Force at... 

Woo, scareeee. One thing scarier than 

a shull-shaped hand shaker and that’s surely a 

glow-in-the-dark skull shaker! That’s just a whole 

different world of scare, baby! 

Okay, calm down dear, it’s just a commercial. 

Beadbrain Shakers are unique skull-shaped shakers 

that produce a loud maraca sound, and are easy to 

hold in order to get that rhythm thang movin’! 

Extremely durable, they can provide that shikka-shikka 

backing to any type of music you want... Except, I 

would imagine, classical. 

Performing the ritual, time-honoured ceremony of 

the ‘passing over of the sum of £2.79’ in your local 

music emporium will allow to gain the access to 

the darkest shaker rhythms of the Beadbrain... 

Though you might want to be 

flash and have one of the 

new 6-guitar display stands 

from Kinsman in the corner 

of your front room – and 

very nice to look at that 

would be, too – it’s much 

more likely that music 

stores will be able to make 

more use of them as a 

means of displaying six 

guitars in a compact 

floor space area. 

Capable of carrying 

either electric or 

acoustic guitars, 

the Kinsman KDDGS6 

costs £59.99 rrp. 

Fishman’s state-of-the-art Aura onboard 

preamp systems offer the excitement of 

Fishman’s patented Aura Acoustic Imaging 

technology in a smaller footprint module. 

Four custom-made Aura images are pre-loaded 

into the easy to use preamp design. 

Featuring a built-in tuner, feedback-fighting 

phase control and fully-programmable 

digital equalisation, the onboard Aura and 

Aura Pro systems offer the best and most 

accessible onboard control and sound quality 

available for electro-acoustic guitars. 

Fishman Aura and Aura Pro systems come complete 

with Switchjack Stereo Endpin Jack and an 

Acoustic Matrix Undersaddle pickup, available 

in Narrow and Wide pickup width formats. 

48

Taking their name rather unsuprisingly from the unbroken lines 

at the edge of the road, Soul/Ska/Pop band THE RUMBLE STRIPS 

have been rather busy lately. 

Originally from Tavistock in Devon, and having known each other 

since childhood it’s hard to put an exact formation date to them, but 

the current line up has been together since 2004 and is 

now based in London. The band are currently signed 

to Fallout Records, a subsidiary of 

Universal Island Records, through 

whom they have recently re-released 

k 

DG63TAN 

£229rrp 

their most current single, 

"Motorcycle". Their debut album, 

Girls And Weather, was released in 

September 2007, and featured the 

track “Girls and Boys” which was used 

in the British film comedy, “Run 

Fatboy Run” starring Simon Pegg. 

Key support dates with the Dirty Pretty Things 

and The Zutons helped push the band further into 

the public eye. 

They were thrillingly out of step with the times. 

“In the early days, our fans seemed to be a lot 

of middle aged men who'd latched onto the Dexys 

Midnight Runners comparisons,” laughs multi-instrumentalist 

Tom Gorbutt. But soon the band had built a far broader fanbase, 

headlining the NME New Music Tour and gigging relentlessly. 

Patch William officially started in the summer of 

2007 with their first gig at Bristol University. The 

band consists of Ed and Will, who are brothers, Bill, 

who is their father, George, one of their old friends, 

and Ali, a recent addition to the band since recording. 

CC1 k 

£54.99rrp 

mDTE1 

£139rrp 

Tom decided to put some quirky Danelectro vibe to TRS 

already quite unique sound. Already owning and using a 

Danelectro Baritone, he has recently added a Danelectro 63 

guitar in Tangerine along with the Reel Echo and Wasabi Overdrive 

pedals to his already considerable onstage arsenal. 

After lead singer Charlie sang vocals on 'Back to Black' for producer 

Mark Ronson at The Electric Proms in 2007, in late 2008 the band 

began working with him on their second record at London rehearsal 

space The Joint. Recorded off the back of their first US tour the band 

lay down the bulk of the tracks at Avatar Studios, New York, leaving 

vocals to be completed in London, England whilst 

orchestration was composed and over seen by Owen 

Pallett (Final Fantasy, Arcade Fire) and completed 

in Prague. The new album is sited for release in 

summer 2009 and goes under the working name 

“Welcome to the Walk Alone”. 

DAO1 k 

£59.99rrp 

For their first year playing the band conscientiously 

gigged around London, recorded at home and promoted 

themselves culminating in a lucky run-in with multi award-winning 

producer, and recently appointed Chairman of The Music Producers 

Guild, Steve Levine. Having heard them play, Steve quickly signed 

the band to his label, Hubris records, in the summer of 2008. 

Looking for a range of effects to add to their sound, Steve, a 

longtime fan of Danelectro equipment, suggested they try out 

the Coolcat pedal range – and they band were so impressed 

they bought an entire pedalboardful! 

From this Patch William have been invited to perform a live session 

for BBC introducing where they recorded three tracks which have 

subsequently been played on 6 music and Radio 1. Since then 

the band has begun to record their first studio 

album, to be released over the summer with 

a prospective tour to support it soon after. 

Patch William currently have a residency at 

The Troubadour, Earls Court which they play 

at monthly inbetween a busy recording 

schedule. 

Steve Levine 

Grover Strap Locks feature the ‘quick release’ mechanism players 

want and need. This strong yet lightweight accessory provides 

security along with the ability to easily remove the strap for use 

on another instrument or storage. 

Straplocks? Don’t use them? Well, let us tell you (from bitter 

experience) that they’re officially brill, and can save you a load 

of tears after your pride and joy has dropped off your strap and 

bounced off the floor, with a big dent in the now-seriously 

cracked shiny lacquer... not good. 

The new Grover GP800 Series Strap Locks 

are available in Nickel (GP800N), 

Chrome (GP800C), Black (GP800B) 

and Gold (GP800G), priced 

from £21.99 rrp. 

49

Picking up ‘Best In Show’ capped a successful NAMM 2009 for Facelift, 

which recently had its official licence to produce a Yamaha Pacifica 

range extended from UK-only, to a worldwide deal. “I’ll soon be 

announcing at least two further official licence deals with major 

guitar manufacturers, to join those already in place with Fender 

and Yamaha,” continues Hrano. “Less than three years from 

launch, Facelift is truly a global success.” 

Guitar body overlay ‘Facelift’ won ‘Best In Show’ at the 

annual Winter NAMM event in Anaheim, California! 

On the final morning of the four-day 2009 USA NAMM show, attended 

by more than 85,000 MI professionals, seven industry experts, 

having trawled the exhibition to identify the best products 

declared Facelift ‘...A cool product made by cool guys. You 

can have one guitar and 30 different looks with Facelift.’ 

"The accolade was completely unexpected and a fantastic 

tribute," responds Mike Hrano of Rockano Productions 

Limited, which produces Facelift. “Finding anything at NAMM 

can be something of a challenge,” he continues, adding, “and 

this year, there were 1505 exhibitor stands, so for Facelift to have 

shone out from among them is amazing. Ours was the only product or 

company from the UK or from outside of the USA to pick up ‘Best In 

Show’. It’s certainly something to be very proud of, and I am.” 

A removable and re-usable 

laminated vinyl overlay for 

guitar bodies developed to 

quickly change the appearance 

of any guitar, Facelift is coated 

in ‘ultra-low tack’ adhesive 

that leaves no residue. It can be 

applied and re-applied in seconds 

to instantly transform any guitar, 

new or old. The Facelift 

range comprises nine 

designs each to fit 

Fender® Telecaster® 

and Stratocaster® 

guitars, with recent 

designs to fit the Yamaha® 

Pacifica® 112V, 012 and 112J guitar body shapes. 

Give your guitar an instant new look with a re-usable Facelift 

guitar overlay – including the excellent ‘Quo’ Francis Rossi and 

Rick Parfitt 'signature guitar’ versions – for only £19.99 rrp! 

BENHOWMAN 

Ben Howman is another working professional guitarist who has discovered the 

superb qualities of the Vintage Advance guitar range. 

After obtaining a degree in music from York St. John University, at which he was also 

part of several music scenes he is currently working in several groups of various styles, 

including a corporate function band that has just done a videoshoot for gigs abroad in 

places like Dubai etc, plus blues, soul, jazz, and rock groups, D F Sec, and Back to 

Black, to name just two. 

Able to play in a variety of styles, he says his particular favourites are jazz, blues, 

funk, rock, metal, fusion, and world music, some classical and various mixtures and 

sub-divisions of all these genres. (do you play any Kylie Minogue? – sarcastic Ed) 

“My personal guitar favourites would have to be Greg Howe, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, 

George Benson, David Gilmore, Guthrie Govan, Mike Stern, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, 

Joe Bonamassa, and Tony Macalpine to name a few.” 

lVintage 

AV2HNF 

£429rrp 

6 

2 

‘The humbuckers give it 

a nice fat sound, 

ideal for jazz blues 

and even metal...’ 

Playing such a diverse range of material, Ben 

needed a guitar that was incredibly versatile, 

and able to go from screaming metal lead to 

subtle jazz at the flick of a button. 

ADVANCE Series TM 

"I tried Vintage guitars mainly by recommendation, but also curiosity as I'd never played one before” 

He found himself more than a little pleased with what he found. “My Vintage Advance AV2HNF guitar 

is fantastic," he exclaims happily. "The humbuckers give it a nice fat sound, ideal for jazz blues and 

even metal, and then all I need to do is roll off the humbucker and there you have all the bright 

twang and shimmer of single coil tone too." 

4 

50 

Through his work with the Lincolnshire Jazz and Rock Academy in which Ben 

leads the contemporary rock group, and other events, he has worked and 

played alongside some of the country's finest musicians, including Ray 

Fenwick, Dave Ital, Dave Swift and Harry Harris. 

He currently continues to gig and teach in his native Lincolnshire. 

4+1 

www.myspace.com/benhowmanmusic

F-STYLE 

MANDOLINS 

& BANJO 

INTRODUCED 

lVFM300VSB 

£399rrp 

lVVFM400AVB 

£399rrp 

lVMT400VB 

£369rrp 

lVB30GDL 

£329rrp 

VFM300VSB F-STYLE MANDOLIN 

With its distinctive oversize F-Style 

headstock, here mated to a highly 

ornate rococo ‘Victorian era’ style 

scroll horn, double bound f-holed 

archtop body, the VFM300VSB mandolin 

features a tone-enhancing solid spruce top 

with figured solid maple back and sides. An impressive level of detail 

includes a small black pickguard, overhung bound-edge 25-fret 

rosewood fingerboard and adjustable rosewood bridge, along with the 

period correct black peghead face, featuring inlaid abalone Vintage 

logo and emblem, plus gold-plated open gear tuners with ‘crushed ice’ 

effect pearloid buttons, plus gold-plated hardware. Vintage Sunburst 

finish. £399.00 rrp includes hard case. 

VFM400AVB F-STYLE MANDOLIN (Oval Soundhole) 

Again, an ornate oversize headstock on this F-style mandolin, here 

with a vertical oval mouth soundhole design. A high level of 

specification includes a double bound body with solid spruce top, 

figured solid maple back and sides, adjustable rosewood bridge, 

bound edge 26-fret neck and gold-plated open gear tuners with 

‘crushed ice’ effect pearloid buttons. Also featured is an attractive 

abalone ‘Vintage’ headstock logo with elegant ‘flower pot’ inlaid peghead 

motif. Antique violin burst finish. £399.00 rrp includes hard case. 

VMT400VB DOUBLE CUTAWAY MANDOLIN 

With its ornate oversize headstock, vertical oval mouth soundhole and 

sharp horned, double cutaway arched top body, the VMT400VB’s 

sunburst finish is the ideal complement to its intriguing looks. 

Specification includes double bound body with solid spruce top, 

figured solid maple back and 

sides, adjustable rosewood bridge, 

bound edge 26-fret neck and 

gold-plated open gear tuners with 

‘crushed ice’ effect pearloid 

buttons. Also features an 

attractive abalone Vintage headstock 

logo with elegant ‘flower pot’ 

inlaid peghead motif. £369.00 rrp 

includes padded carry bag. 

VINTAGE® DELUXE G BANJO INTRODUCED 

The two most common forms of banjo are the 4-string Tenor banjo – 

frequently found in traditional Irish music and tuned an octave below 

the mandolin – and the 5-string G banjo, so named as it is commonly 

put in G tuning these days. The G banjo is the only completely 

indigenous North American folk instrument, and has more than 50 

different tunings! Vintage's new VB30GDL Deluxe G Banjo features a 

multi-ply wood rim with rolled brass tone ring and Remo® 

‘Weatherking' coated banjo head. Both the neck and resonator frame 

are mahogany, while the fingerboard is rosewood. Hardware is chrome 

for extra longevity, including the armrest, flange and geared machine 

heads. £329.00 rrp. 

NEW FOR 2009 

Professional Wireless Microphone Systems 

90 Series Single Channel VHF Systems SU100 Series 10 Channel UHF Systems 

L90 Tie-Clip 

Microphone System 

H90 Headset 


SU100LVM-OFT 

Tie-Clip Microphone 

System inc. Case 

SU100HVM-OFT 

Headset Microphone 

System inc. Case 

S90 

Microphone 

System 

SU100 


inc. Case 

51

Kustom’s High Voltage (HV) Hybrid Tube Series generates the 

authentic tone and responsive touch of classic valve amplification 

- but with less weight and a lower price than all-valve designs! 

HV100T COMBO 

Kustom’s HV100T combo 

represents the top-of-the-line 

High Voltage HV combo. 100 

watts RMS of power and two 12- 

inch Celestion speakers provide 

tight, high-volume valve tone with 

total control. 

The heart of 

the HV100T is 

its 12AX7-based 

tube (valve) 

preamp. To 

maximise 

the valve’s 

distinctive 

audio 

characteristics 

and dynamic 

range, the HV 

preamp circuit 

operates at higher 

voltage levels, resulting in 

a rich, dynamic sound loaded with harmonic 

content. Two channels each have an 

independent Master Volume control as 

well as independent 3-band EQ, along with 

a Variable Boost which can also be operated 

from the (optional) footswitch. 

The HV also offers 16 semi-programmable 24- 

bit effects (effects send and return jacks are 

also inbuilt for any external effects) 

and a speaker-emulated Direct Out 

XLR provides a balanced line-out to 

a PA desk, etc. 

The optional 

footswitch 

gives you 

direct control 

over channel switching, activating 

the multi-fx system and boost, whilst a 

second ‘momentary’ footswitch is used for 

tap tempo and toggle functions, including 

52 

three preset reverbs. 

There’s a neat variable 

speed Rotary Speaker 

effect available here too, 

with a built-in Octaver which 

can be pre-selected to Octave 

Up or Octave Down. 

The HV100T retails at £599.00 rrp. 

HV100THD 

AMP HEAD 

The Kustom 

HV100THD amp 

head takes the 

same flexible 

combo circuitry and 

offers it in a classic head format that is 

ideal for use with Kustom’s HV Series 4 x 12” 

speaker cabinets (see below). Both HV100T 

models offer the same two-channel layout, 

each with Gain and Master Volume controls. 

This Dual Master system provides natural 

valve overdrive and compression 

and it’s great 

for dialling in 

medium-gain 

tones with 

ease. And if 

you want 

serious gain, 

stand back - 

from singing 

lead to heavy grind, it’s all 

inside the HV. £449.00 rrp. 

HV SERIES 4X12’ SPEAKER CABINETS 

Available in either angled or straight front 

formats, the new HV 4x12’s are loaded with 

four Celestion G12P80 guitar speakers, the 

HV 412’s are built with an all-plywood shell 

and baffle board, giving superior resonance 

and projection. Decked 

out in black weave 

grille cloth, with 

chrome corner 

protectors and smart 

silver piping, the 

HV412 looks and 

sounds dangerous! 

With 260 watts power 

handling, the cabs 

weigh 70 lbs/32 kg 

and cost £449.00 each rrp. 

HV SERIES COMBOS - 

HV65, HV30, HV20 

If 100 watts-worth of High 

Voltage Kustom is perhaps a little 

too much for your needs, here are three new 

HV combos to suit. 

Like their big brother 100 watt versions, HV 

combo amps offer turbocharged tones via 

the exclusive 12AX7 valve preamp design. 

This circuit generates the complex tonality 

and responsive feel of valve amplification, 

without the weight and serious expense! 

The HV65T 65-watt, Hv30T 30-watt and 

HV20T 20-watt combos have that same twochannel 

layout, each with Gain and Master 

Volume controls allowing them to be set 

independently. This 

Dual Master system 

provides natural 

valve overdrive and 

compression on both 

channels all the way 

to thick, singing 

distortion. 

The HV65T (£529.00 rrp) and HV30T 

(£429.00 rrp) units each incorporate 

a 24-bit Digital Multi-Effects System 

that provides 16 high-fidelity, semiprogrammable 

effects with tap or 

toggle functions for each effect, letting 

players fine-tune their choices. 

The HV20T (£349.00 rrp) has its own unique 

Effects section that mixes analogue and digital 

technologies to provide an independent 

Reverb control as well as eight footswitchable 

effects including a ‘Delay and Boost’ setting 

that really makes guitar solos stand 

out. 

In all, HV Series 

combo amps 

provide professional 

tone, features and 

boutique styling in 

versatile, 

performance-oriented 

packages.

Veteran Saxon axeman Graham Oliver is the latest 

addition to the Vintage® endorsee list. Gear's Gavin 

Coulson catches up the founder of one of the 

NWOBHM pioneer acts and finds out about losing 

fingers, having Metallica as your support band and his 

input into the most famous spoof rock movie ever... 

Way back when 

(okay, the late 70’s) 

Saxon were one of 

the first of the New Wave Of 

British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) 

bands, championed hugely in 

the likes of weekly music 

paper Sounds (RIP) and of 

course Kerrang!, bless its little 

heart. Based in Barnsley, 

South Yorks, Saxon’s 

original line-up 

was Biff Byford 

(vocals), 

Graham 

Oliver and 

Paul Quinn (guitars), 

Steve Dawson (bass) 

and drummer Pete ‘Frank’ Gill. Saxon proved 

to be one of the most successful of the bands 

from that genre, and gained worldwide 

popularity having sold an amazing 100 

million records to date. 

How did it all start for the 

young Graham Oliver? 

“When Steve (Dawson) and I were younger, 

he had this old van he’d bought for £50 and 

we would travel around the country following 

the band 

Free at 

every gig 

we could 

- I just 

loved that 

simplistic ‘big 

guitar riffs 

through a stack’ 

sound of guitarist Paul 

Kossoff and knew that’s 

what I wanted to do. 

You mention Paul 

Kossoff there, but do 

you have any other 

guitar heroes? And who 

inspired you? 

“I remember going to 

Butlins when I was 13, 

and the house 

band guitarist 

there, Ollie 

Halsall was an 

absolutely amazing 

player, and really 

inspired me to get 

into guitar. I also 

remember watching 

Stevie Winwood in 

Doncaster play 

‘Stevie’s Blues’, and 

bunking off school in 

‘67 to watch Hendrix 

play, very inspirational. 

But there was a time when 

I it looked like I might 

never play again (Graham 

lost most of the index finger on his left hand 

in an accident in the 1970’s). Paul (Quinn, 

Saxon co-guitarist) and I then worked out 

how I could form chords, play solos, etc. 

just using my remaining three fingers. A 

month later I was back on the road, and a 

couple of years later I was playing a guitar 

solo on Top Of The Pops!” 

In Saxon you were responsible for writing 

some killer metal riffs and songs - do you 

have a favourite? 

“Although I came up with riffs for ‘Never 

Surrender’ or ‘The Bands Played On’, the 

songs were always a team effort. The riffs 

came out of inspirational moments - ‘The 

Bands Played On’ is a 

reworking of Robin 

Trower’s ‘Whisky Train’ , 

and ‘Wheels Of Steel’ is ‘Cat 

Scratch Fever’ reversed! On 

another note, Metallica’s 

second gig was supporting 

Saxon at The Whisky A Go-Go 

in the States - Steve and I 

picked them out of a handful 

of demos sent to us and to their 

credit they have never forgotten that. 

They invited me to a gig recently, and just 

before they came on, our song ‘Heavy Metal 

Thunder’ was playing through the PA system. 

It was a great feeling, but of course I 

couldn’t start saying to the kids in the 

crowd around me “Hey, I wrote this riff, 

and that’s my guitar solo!”, they’d just 

think I was some sad nutter!” 

It's no secret that you split with Saxon 

rather acrimoniously, which lead to your 

current outfit ODS (Oliver/Dawson Saxon, 

with former Saxon bassist Steve Dawson 

and drummer Nigel Durham, while vocalist 

Biff Byford fronts his ‘Saxon’). Any plans 

for a 30th Anniversary reunion? 

“For me, Saxon was the original five members - 

anything else is a tribute. With ODS we have 

written new songs, and all we want to do is 

play them and the classic songs we created. 

Unfortunately, it has proved difficult, because 

promoters want to use Saxon’s history in order 

to sell tickets, which is understandable. It’s 

‘Metallica’s second gig was 

supporting Saxon!’ 

sad but all we ask is to promote ourselves 

using the name of the band that we started, 

after all. That said, I have no beef with any 

of the guys - Paul Quinn and I were like 

brothers and I’ll always be grateful for his 

help after my accident.” 

Why did you recently choose the Metal 

Axxe Raider and Vintage® AV6 Advance 

guitars for yourself? 

“I’m currently playing a wide spectrum of 

styles and because a lot of gigs these days 

are overseas, I’m constantly on and off 

airplanes. When you get to the gig, often 

you are straight on stage, with no time to 

soundcheck. So I need a guitar that can go 

from power chord riffage, to subtle arpeggio 

backing, without the need for complicated 

effects loops or amp settings, whilst with- 

53

standing the sometimes less than 

tender care of budget airlines 

(laughs) - the Vintage AV6 model 

does this with great aplomb. For ODS 

and Los Dragons, I need to pull out 

all my metal tricks, so that’s why I 

chose the Metal Axxe VR2001MD Raider 

guitar, as it comes with the locking 

vibrato system which is ideal for all the 

harmonic divebombs and 

it still stays in tune.” 

What attracted you to the Vintage 

guitar range? 

“Mainly, it was the number of respected 

live and session musicians who 

were already working with the 

brand - people like John Verity, 

Ten Years After’s Joe Gooch who 

I’ve actually jammed with, and 

of course Geoff Whitehorn. 

These are serious musicians who 

need an instrument that will 

do its job properly, and they 

wouldn’t use anything that 

couldn’t do the job really 

well. So I knew there had to 

be something special about the 

brand, something that was 

verified when I tried them out for myself.” 

As well as Oliver/Dawson Saxon, you’re 

involved in T-Rex, and the Los Dragons 

project. 

“Los Dragons is a band featuring Kee 

Marcello from the band Europe, Don Rox 

(Eric Martin) and I on guitars, Mike Terrana 

(Malmsteen) on drums, and Jack Neille 

(Tygers Of Pan Tang). We do lots of gigs in 

Europe, sometimes under the name Twin 

Dragons or Guitar Legends, basically playing 

classic tracks, sometimes covers from our 

own bands and some original stuff. It’s a lot 

of fun because I never went through that 

cover band stage, I’ve really only ever played 

my own stuff, even in the early days. It’s a 

challenge to start learning other peoples 

songs. I think it’s made me a better player 

and because I haven’t done it before, it’s not 

boring to start ripping through classics like 

‘Smoke On the Water’ or ‘Little Wing’”. 

As many people know, the excellent spoof 

rock movie, ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ took its 

inspiration from various rock and metal 

bands of those days to hilarious effect - it’s 

almost a bible for bands to watch these 

days. The rampaging metal machine that 

was Saxon in its heyday 

surely offered more 

material for them to 

use than most other 

bands? 

“It’s funny you 

should mention 

Spinal Tap. 

I find it 

uncomfortable 

to watch in 

places. Back in 

the day, we were 

shooting the ‘Power And 

The Glory’ video, which was 

directed by - get this - 

‘I find Spinal Tap uncomfortable 

to watch in places...’ 

Ridley Scott (yes, that (now 

Sir) Ridley Scott, director of 

Aliens, Blade Runner, 

Gladiator etc. fame), and 

a movie studio called us 

up and asked if they 

could send an actor 

out on the road 

with us... It 

turned out to be a 

chap called Harry 

Shearer (who 

WWith the comments that he reckons his new Metal Axxe 

Raider is the business, stalwart axeman Graham Oliver 

seems delighted with his choice of guitar. One thing’s for 

sure, Graham’s Metal Axxe guitar will be continuously subject to the 

most arduous of conditions for such an instrument - air travel. 

Inconsiderate check-in and baggage handlers (bang, oops sorry, 

bang...), drastic fluctuations in surrounding temperatures, humidity 

and pressure...and all before he and his guitars even get 

to the flippin’ gig, where Graham’s guitar has to then 

produce the driving powerful performance that the 

guitarist is depending on. 

Graham’s confidence in his Metal Axxe Raider speaks 

volumes about the construction, abilities and 

performance of the 2009 METAL AXXE Range. 

Originally launched over five years ago, the Metal 

Axxe guitars and basses have definitely been a hit 

with guitarists in many countries. And for 2009, all the 

54 

II 

became ‘Derek Smalls’, bass player in the 

‘Spinal Tap’ film. These days, he’s the voice 

of no less than 21 ‘Simpsons’ characters, 

including Mr Burns, Principal Skinner and 

Chief Wiggum!). We had no idea he was 

researching for a spoof ‘rockumentary’, it was 

never mentioned. So we of course got drunk 

with him, and regaled him with a few tales 

of life on the road with Saxon. For instance, 

I told him about the time we did a gig with 

Motorhead who had been testing out copious 

amounts of dry ice before the show, which 

had left the stage wet in places. Come 

showtime, I started the intro to our first 

song, ‘Motorcycle Man’ off-stage, then I ran 

onto the middle to put my foot 

up on the monitor. At 

least, that was the 

plan. What actually 

happened was, I 

slipped on a wet 

patch, and slid 

across the stage on my 

back! My guitar tech ran 

onto the stage and lifted 

me upright while I played on, 

and I didn’t miss a note! Of 

course, this was parodied in the 

film’s famous scene where Spinal 

Tap guitarist Nigel Tufnell bends 

over backwards too far during 

their ‘set’ and falls over but keeps 

playing till a roadie runs out and 

picks him up! In fact, it has 

been said that Harry eventually 

based his entire ‘Derek Smalls’ 

character on our Steve...” 

http://www.myspace.com/ 

httpwwwmyspacecomods 

www.myspace.com/losdragons 

http://www.t-rex.co.uk/ 

for 2009 

guitars have received major upgrades to cosmetics and hardware - 

more firepower from the fitted Wilkinson pickups; new re-profiled 

neck shapes for faster, more responsive playing; new colour finishes 

and headstock shapes, plus a bolder Metal Axxe ‘XX’ headstock and 

12th fret logo! 

Here’s what’s available in the new and exciting 2009 Metal Axxe range. 

After all, if you want to make a statement about the music you play, 

these are definitely the guitars to have! 

 

RAIDER 

VR2001BMS Black Metal Sparkle £329.00rrp

• Wilkinson hi-output pickups! 

• Wilkinson tuners! 

• Floyd Rose vibratos! 

• Re-profiled speed necks! 

• New colour finishes! 

• New ‘XX’ cosmetics! 

• New ‘XX’ headstock 

& 12th fret inlay! 

 

WRAITH 

VWR1001BRQ: Blood Red Quilt £339.00 

VWR1001HBF: Helms Black Flame £339.00 

VWR999HBF: Helms Black Flame £329.00 

 

REAPER 

VR3001BKZ: Gloss Black £329.00rrp 

VR3001SWB: Gloss Black/Vintage White £299.00rrp 

 

RAZER 

VR4001CMO: Camouflage £269.00rrp 

VR4001BK: Gloss Black £269.00rrp 

 

WARP 

VW5001BK: Midnight Black £279.00rrp 

VWB9001BK: Midnight Black £309.00rrp 

55

This family-owned business has been 

involved the production of precision 

metronomes for well over a century. 

Looking around at the present turbulent economic climate, 

it’s not hard to understand how hard it is for companies, 

particularly specialist manufacturers, to remain a 

competitive force in an undulating market. Imagine then, 

the trials and tribulations which will have been faced by a 

company which is well over 100 years old...two shattering 

world wars, ongoing generational family management 

changes, not to mention the influx of cheap competition 

from the Far East in particular over recent years. 

PRECISION MANUFACTURE 

Thus it is for Wittner, legendary German manufacturers of precision 

metronomes and additional musical accessories. Founded in 1895 in 

the Black Forest region of Southern Germany by Gustav Wittner, the 

Wittner factory today employs over 100 people, including a number 

of craftsmen and designers eagerly ensuring that Wittner’s reputation 

for precision manufacture remains as intact today as it always has 

been. Gustav Wittner began the company by capitalising on his 

experience of making clocks which he applied to the equally 

fastidious manufacturing principles of metronomes. 

An export market soon began to grow at the turn of the 20th 

century, to Russia in particular, and after World War 1 Gustav’s son 

Rudolf assumed control of the Wittner concern, which he gradually 

expanded to a medium-sized industrial plant with much greater 

production potential. Rudolf’s expansion plans proved timely, as the 

fledgling music industry really began to take off in the late 20’s / 

early 30’s, with a mass consumer movement towards listening to 

– and playing – music. 

TAKTELL 

As Wittner’s reputation grew, in addition to their Maelzel Metronomes, 

Wittner started producing the ‘Taktell’ metronome. Under its registered 

trademark, the ‘Taktell’ became such a term of quality that, in many 

countries, the word ‘metronome’ was almost replaced by the word ‘Taktell’. 

Though Wittner metronomes by and large remain true to the classic 

looks and operation of a mechanical pendulum style unit, the company 

has always been proud of its continued investment in state-of-the-art 

production technology, cited as ‘..an extreme necessity in order to 

maintain superior production quality and competitive all-round pricing’. 

Besides metronomes, Wittner also manufactures other high quality 

musical accessories such as violin strings, adjusters, violin tailpieces, 

etc. Though Wittner’s current range includes a digital credit-card size 

metronome, the main business of the company still emanates from 

the traditional Maelzel Pyramid Metronome units, in both wind-up 

mechanical and quartz-based formats, alongside the evergreen Taktell 

Classic, of course. 

Recent Wittner innovations have seen the introduction of the Taktell 

Piccolo metronome – definitely a more ‘tactile Taktell’ this time, with 

a variety of pastel shades available colouring the company’s ‘Soft Feel 

Leather Look’ covering, with the traditional Taktell wind-up mechanism 

and swinging pendulum again ensuring first class tempo management. 

Also available in more compact pocket-size format are the Wittner 

Taktell Piccolino and Taktell Super Mini metronomes. And now... 

WITTNER INTRODUCES TAKTELL ANIMAL PENDULUM METRONOMES 

Okay, so what's the best way to get children and young music 

students (and adults...!) more interested in the benefits of using a 

metronome with their music making? Answer – make it fun! And 

that's exactly what these superb Taktell Animal Metronomes from 

German metronome specialists, Wittner have to offer. 

With well over a century of experience of manufacturing precision 

metronomes, the new animal metronomes offer all the features and 

facilities found on conventional mechanical pendulum style metronomes, 

as expected from a specialised musical artefact bearing the Wittner name. 

The fun, attractive design of these new Animal Metronomes is aimed 

at increasing the time students will want to spend being involved 

with metronome practice. Wittner Animal Metronomes are mechanical 

pendulum units with a traditional wind-up mechanism precisionengineered 

for reliable, accurate performance. 

Animal Metronomes 

• Traditional metronome that 

produces loud clicking sound 

• Pendulum motion provides 

visual sensing of tempo 

• Tempo range 

40-208 bpm 

• Wind-Up 

Mechanism 

• £76.99rrp ea. 

Model Numbers 

Cat: 839021 

Owl: 839031 

Penguin: 839011 

56

NEW FROM 

We’ve said this before, but anyone looking to buy a high 

specification classical guitar for bargain money would be 

doing themselves a disservice if they didn’t put ‘Santos 

Martinez’ as a ‘must try’ on their shopping list... 

The award-winning, critically-acclaimed range of Santos Martinez 

classical and electro-classical guitars offers an alluring combination 

of sweet-toned performance and easy playability, lifting these 

superbly-crafted instruments far beyond their humble retail prices. 

High levels of specification and the use of premium grade materials 

mean that most Santos Martinez instruments offer such features 

as tone-enhancing solid spruce tops, on electro versions coupled 

with specially-developed onboard pickup/preamp systems from 

USA-acknowledged acoustic amplification experts, Fishman. 

The Santos Martinez range also offers a range of elegantly-constructed, 

beginner-friendly junior classicals, available in 1/2 and 3/4 sizes, 

as well as full size options. However for 2009, all Santos models 

from the SM200 solid cedar-topped model upwards will now feature a 

Spanish heel assembly at the critical neck/body joint. This high grade 

and uniquely traditional method of classical guitar construction, 

named after the shoe shape it resembles, offers not only improved 

stability but a weight saving of up to 30% over a conventional solid 

block heel, significantly improving tonal resonance and 

vibrational transfer through the instrument. 

Also in 2009, Santos Martinez instruments will be 

finished in a UV (Ultra Violet) varnish, which allows 

for a much thinner body coating, allowing the wood 

used for the table, back, sides and neck of the guitars 

to perform in a more resonant manner, over the 

more conventional, more stifling and less flexible 

polyester-based finishes more usually found on 

guitars in these price categories. 

New models for 2009 

Two exciting new models are being introduced 

into the Santos range for 2009, the SM475CEA 

Bossa Nova, and the SM450CEA 39” Classical. 

Santos Martinez 

SM475CEA 

This elegantly-proportioned 

electro-classical is a particularly 

versatile cutaway-bodied guitar, 

with a high level of specification 

which uses an interesting 

and varied selection of 

tonewoods, including a 

solid cedar top matched 

to rosewood back and sides, 

edged with paduak binding. 

All Santos electro-classicals 

now use much-lauded 

Fishman onboard 

amplification as an OEM 

fitment, with the SM475CEA 

making use of a Fishman Aero+ 

preamp matched to a Sonicore pickup. 

Aero onboard preamp systems are 

designed to offer maximum control, 

performance and quality of sound 

from a small, unobtrusive format, 

here offering anti-feedback control, 

brilliance control and an endpin jack out 

assembly. With such impressive features, 

the SM475CEA surely represents amazing 

value at only £339.00 rrp. 

Santos Martinez 

SM450CEA 

With the more traditional look of a 

cutaway-bodied classical guitar and 

the paler colour of its solid spruce 

top this time, the SM450CEA also 

features rosewood as the tonewood 

laminate used for the body’s back 

and sides. The instrument’s 39” 

overall dimension definitely imbues 

it with a compact and manageable 

nature, giving the guitar a 

genuinely upmarket classical 

guitar feel. Maple provides a 

sympathetic body edge binding 

here, and the colourful rosette 

inlay provides an attractive visual 

counterpoint on the guitar’s table. 

The cutaway feature facilitates upper fret 

playing access allowing use of the entire fretboard area as a playing 

surface, against the more restrictive full-body format of a conventional 

classical guitar shape. 

As with the SM475CEA guitar, 

Fishman’s Aero+ preamp system 

and Sonicore pickup arrangement 

are OEM amplification fitments. 

Offering equally impressive 

value, the SM450CEA 

retails at £309.00. 

Not Forgetting... 

Alongside these two new 

additions, the two existing 

flagship Santos Martinez 

electro-classical guitars remain in the range, namely 

the cutaway-bodied SM675CEA Bossa Nova and the 

SM650CEA, also an electro-acoustic cutaway model. 

The upgrade of Santos’ amplification systems to Fishman 

models means that these guitars will now feature the 

Fishman Aero Blend. This superb tone-capturing unit features 

a combination arrangement of Sonicore undersaddle pickup 

and built-in mic as its pickup sources, with a Blend 

control allowing the user to obtain an optimum sound via 

the two signal sources. An Anti-feedback control helps keep 

the sound smooth and under control. 

As before, the SM675CEA features solid tonewoods in 

the form of a solid cedar top with a solid rosewood body, 

while the SM650’s tone comes from its solid spruce top, 

also matched to a solid rosewood body. 

AND FINALLY 

A number of other attractive guitars can be found to 

match your tonal requirements and budget in the Santos 

Martinez range, including other full body classicals and 

electro-classicals. Don’t miss the opportunity to snap up 

one of these fine ‘bargain classics’! 

57

MANUEL 

RODRIGUEZ Sr. 1926-2008 

Manuel Rodríguez II, one of the finest luthiers of the Madrid 

school, died on December 25th 2008 in this city, where he 

was born in 1926. In the very early years, he started working 

with his father, a constructor of flamenco and classical guitars. 

They had their own workshop in their home, while also working 

in the renowned Ramírez workshop. There, legendary masters 

such as Jose Ramírez III taught him the love of fine woodworking 

using simple tools and materials and the struggle for quality in 

often difficult economic and political times, with only a limited 

availability of proper woods and other necessary materials. 

Flamenco singers and players would often get together at that 

time in the guitar workshops, playing, dancing and singing 

until the sun started to rise on the following day. But 

Rodríguez, though fond of this bohemian ambiance, was 

always concerned about organising a stable base from 

which he could produce handcrafted instruments, always 

striving for a strong, balanced sound from strikingly 

beautiful guitars. 

LUTHIERY SKILLS 

Driven to develop his luthiery skills, he emigrated to 

the USA under the patronage of the musician Theodore 

Norman. In 1959 he established himself with wife 

Emilia in Los Angeles, where his two boys, Manuel Jr. 

and Norman were born. He spent 14 years in the US, 

building many instruments for the lively musical world of Los Angeles 

and Hollywood. He also conducted research together with engineers at 

UCLA to improve design (bracings, frets, tieblocks, etc.). An important 

result was the mobile bridge for correcting the temperamental tuning 

challenges all guitars must deal with. He also learned English, which 

would prove very helpful in his later life. 

After returning to Spain, he soon realised that the business 

needed to be set on a more diverse footing, developing a 

dual approach constructing both fully handmade concert 

guitars in the workshop – where his sons received their training 

as luthiers – and using machines. His guitars have been praised 

by no less than Andres Segovia, Regino Sáinz de la Maza, 

Angel Romero and Theodore Norman and many others. 

A true family concern, the Rodriguez stable is still today 

located near Madrid in the Toledo province, where Manuel Sr. 

continued to work until just a few weeks before his death. 

He defined himself as '...simply a luthier and guitarmaker, neither 

a good nor a bad one', stressing his pride of belonging to this fine 

group of creators, underscoring the humility and goodwill of this 

master builder. 

Manuel Sr. is survived by his two sons, Manuel Jr. and Norman, who 

are both actively involved with the family company. 

EC does it... 

58 

An ardent guitar fan after seeing The Shadows at 

age 9, Alan Burridge, from Poole in Dorset, who is 

now 58, decided to catalogue the bands he’d seen 

between 1960 and 1980. This resulted in a book 

titled ‘Bournemouth Rocks!’ which will be available 

in July from Natula Publishing – details at 

http://www.natula.co.uk. 

Whilst researching the book, Alan 

remembered an early gig by Cream 

at Bournemouth’s Pavilion Ballroom 

in August 1966, which he missed. 

“I was 15, still at school and the 

gig took place at quite short notice. 

Either I was broke, unable to get 

to the gig on the night, or both!” 

he remembers. “Transport was more 

difficult then, and not being there was 

heartbreaking for a fan like myself.” 

To make up, he attended 

Cream’s legendary Royal Albert 

Hall ‘Farewell Concert’ in 

November 1968. “I adored Eric 

Clapton’s ‘psychedelic’ Gibson 

SG which he’d played since 

early 1967, but when he walked 

onstage with a Gibson ES335, I 

felt so disappointed. But the hippy era 

that that SG so beautifully represented 

had run its course, so Clapton did the 

right thing by moving on.” 

Recently, the local Bournemouth Daily 

Echo caught up on Alan’s ‘missing gig’ 

dilemma, and tried to help find 

details of this elusive Cream show. 

“A lot of people remembered it and 

phoned the paper with anecdotes,” 

said Alan, “but the gig isn’t listed in 

any of the Cream biographies, so we 

need proof by way of a ticket stub or 

newspaper advert – can anyone help, please?” 

A lifelong guitar fan but with little self-confessed aptitude for playing 

them, Alan made guitars at school and always has one around his 

home, ‘..to have a strum on or polish!” But Clapton’s psychedelic SG, 

known today as ‘The Fool’ after the Dutch artists who painted it, has 

always been his favourite. “It is the guitar of my generation, so when 

I found Vintage Guitars had a tribute style guitar available I just had 

to have one,” he enthused. “After a heart operation in 2006, I gave 

up smoking and drinking and saved the money, so what better way 

to spend it?” 

The Vintage V6MRF 'Fool' is exclusive to London-based music retailer, 

Ivor Mairants Musicentre (0207 636 1481), who commissioned it. 

Each Fool guitar is hand made and hand painted, and production of 

this fabulous tribute instrument is very limited.

Classical Education 

Classical or flamenco...many people don’t realise that 

there is a big difference between these traditional guitar 

styles. Classical expert Tim Panting explains. 

Aquestion often asked by visitors to 

the famous Ivor Mairants Musicentre 

guitar specialist in London, concerns 

the difference between ‘Spanish’ and 

‘Classical’ guitars - what is the difference? 

Well, both terms are suitable but are primarily 

generic; ‘nylon strung guitar’ is probably a 

more accurate term for these guitar styles, 

because nowadays there are many different 

shapes and sizes of guitars with nylon 

strings. Narrow necks, 14 frets, cutaways, 

slim bodies, 7-string, 8-string, electrics 

with piezo/mic pickups... 

However, the ‘classic’ design as we now accept 

it features 12 frets up to the body, wide 

fingerboard and deep body with generously 

rounded shoulders and equally curved lower 

bouts, a style which originated around the 

latter stages of the 19th century. 

TORRES - THE ARCHITECT OF 

CLASSICAL GUITAR STYLE 

Antonio Torres (1817-1892) from Almeria in 

southern Spain is credited as chiefly responsible 

for developing the guitar into what is now 

called the ‘classical’ guitar, as described 

above. The predecessors 

of this design of classical 

guitar were rather 

smaller instruments 

with strictly limited 

powers of projection 

and volume. Torres was 

responsible for many 

technical innovations 

including a separate 

Antonio Torres (1817-1892) 

saddle arrangement, 

and his own ‘fan strut’ 

soundboard bracing pattern, Torres believing 

that the behaviour of the guitar’s table (or 

top) was the most important element in the 

instrument’s ability to produce and project 

sound. 

Interestingly, the guitar was never considered 

a serious instrument until another guitarist 

and contemporary of Torres, Francisco 

Torrega (1852-1909) started to use Torres’ 

instruments. Even so, by the beginning 

of the 19th century, inspired guitarists/ 

composers such as Fernando Sor had 

composed music of incredible depth and 

and technical difficulty, 

thereby establishing 

immense possibilities on 

the instrument. 

However, the guitar has 

almost never been out 

of the hands of folk 

musicians, bands and 

other popular entertainers 

as an instrument capable 

Francisco Torrega (1852-1909) 

of deftly accompanying singers and dancers, 

and then being able to add flourishes of 

dazzling virtuosity all of its own. This is 

where the gypsy music of Andalucia in 

southern Spain, namely ‘Flamenco’ comes in. 

The name also originated in the late 19th 

century, and comes from the old Middle 

Dutch language; derived from the word 

‘Vlaminc’ , literally ‘Fleming’, it meant ‘like 

a gypsy’. Flamenco’s spirited, rhythmical and 

percussive fire helped give the guitar a very 

dynamic profile that was enormously exciting 

yet unnerving to the inhabitants of the more 

genteel salons in the towns! Even here, 

Torres’ guitar designs also influenced the 

design of the modern flamenco guitar. 

FLAMENCO FIRE 

So, what are the main differences between 

the two guitars? To begin with, flamenco 

music demands a very specific type of sound 

from all the elements of the music itself, 

which is made up of singing and dancing, 

the guitar being chiefly an accompanying 

instrument. But the sound of a flamenco guitar 

has to be very distinctive - very bright, with 

little or no harmonic overtones emanating 

when being strummed or plucked. A percussive 

attack and quick instrument response are 

needed to accompany the very tight and 

synchronised dance movements used in the 

form. This is achieved by using specific types 

of wood, and the proportions of the instrument 

itself, flamenco guitars being generally much 

lighter than classical ones. The back and 

sides of flamenco guitars are traditionally 

made of cypress wood, as opposed to tropical 

hardwoods such as Brazilian rosewood which 

are used in classical guitars. 

Set-up wise, the action (string height above 

the frets) of flamenco guitars tends to be 

lower than that employed on their classical 

counterparts and therefore a certain amount 

of string buzzing as they rattle off the frets 

is acceptable on flamenco guitars. This is 

often a worry for guitarists unused to this 

natural slackness which actually adds to the 

percussive strumming of the flamenco 

rasquedos. The advantage of a low action 

is ease of playing, so flamenco guitars can 

be extremely versatile in terms of being a 

fast-playing acoustic, right up to usage 

n modern day acoustic jazz-metal, a la 

Rodrigo y Gabriela. 

CLASSICAL GAS 

The classical guitar is an instrument that 

tries to achieve the impossible but actually 

does very well for such a modest machine. 

Andres Segovia (1883-1987) raised the profile 

of the instrument enough for it to be 

considered a serious concert 

instrument capable of playing 

alongside established 

instruments such as the 

violin and piano. The 

sound demanded by 

classical guitarists is 

full and rich with as 

much tonal projection 

as possible, and the 

action does not have to 

be too high, a common 

mistaken belief - the guitar 

must be comfortable to play, of 

course. The back and sides of these 

guitars are traditionally made with either 

Brazilian or Indian rosewood, the former 

being very rare and causing the price of the 

instrument to rise dramatically. Cedar and 

spruce, as with flamencos, are the woods 

favoured for the instrument tops. 

MANUEL RODRIGUEZ 

There are many studios producing instruments 

across Spain, but central and eastern regions 

are where most studios are situated. Madridbased 

Manuel Rodriguez guitars start from a 

minuscule £189 for the Model 9 Caballero up 

to the NR-R Rodriguez Professional Rosewood 

Guitar at £3,699.00. Special order models 

from the Rodriguez company can lift the 

price tag to a considerably more hefty £15 

grand but such is the way with specialist 

builds of any instrument or artefact. The 

Rodriguez catalogue offers a wide choice 

of classic variations, with many 

different tonewood recipes 

on cutaway bodies, electroacoustic 

versions, and so on. 

Rodriguez Flamenco models 

start at £499 for the C3F 

Caballero Flamenco which is 

made from sycamore rather 

than cypress, but the Model 

FF is a fully-fledged flamenco 

guitar, retailing at only 

£1,249.00. So you can have 

a choice of the ‘genuine 

articles’ - as far as 

authentic Spanish 

guitars are concerned 

- at what are extremely 

reasonable prices! 

Tim Panting is 

Reviews Editor for 

Classical Guitar 

magazine. 

59

www.hkaudio.com 

Portable Sound 

Concert Sound 

Install Sound 

Gear 

Salem House, Parkinson Approach, Garforth, Leeds LS25 2HR, U.K. 

Tel: 0113 2865 381 Fax: 0113 2868 515 E-mail: gear@jhs.co.uk 

Publisher: Simon Turnbull 

Editor: Gibson Keddie 

Contributors: Kevin Aston, Brian Barnes, Alan Burridge, 

Gav Coulson, Mick Morris, Dave Press, Tim Panting, Tony Simmons 

Art Editor: Simon Turnbull 

Art Team: Richard Dennison, Gary Barlow 

Staff Photographers/Illustrator: Gary Barlow, Richard Dennison 

Subscriptions (Free): Susan Lindley 

Chairman: John H. Skewes 

Managing Director: Dennis J. Drumm 

Printed by: Warners (Midlands) PLC. 01778 39 1000 

All material is copyright and must not be copied or reprinted in any 

format without the express permission of the publishers. 

The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the editor 

or publisher. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, but we regret we have no 

budget to pay for any such material that we choose to print. We do our best to 

ensure accuracy but we cannot be held responsible for any omissions or errors, 

though any complaints will be fairly investigated. All recommended retail and guide prices 

mentioned in this magazine were correct at time of going to press. 

Please note prices/specifications may be subject to change without notice. 

HERE THEY ARE FOR 

ALL THOSE WHO 

COULDN’T FIND ‘EM? 

COMPETITION 

ANSWERS 

WORDSEARCH 

Gear 22 

GOOD LUCK 

WITH THIS ISSUE! 

60

Whether you’re perplexed by PA, fired up by Fret-Kings or resurrecting 

a rusty Rodriguez classical, you can tell us about it on this page. 

Write to Gear at Salem House, Parkinson Approach, Garforth, Leeds 

LS25 2HR, or email gear@jhs.co.uk 

Dear Gear 

I have been self taught to play a guitar for the 

past twelve years and am a big fan of Spanish 

classical and Spanish flamenco guitar music. 

I have only just come across a full-sized 

acoustic nylon string Manuel Rodriguez 

Caballeros model. I found it in a second hand 

shop, and it had hardly been used. I purchased 

it despite the strings looking rather worn so 

I bought some new normal tension strings for 

it. I must admit that I am going to enjoy many 

years of proud ownership of my Rodriguez guitar, 

just as much as I am having great pleasure in 

playing it. It’s an excellent quality classical guitar 

with a fantastic sound and is a great addition 

to my small collection of classical guitars. 

Mr Julian P. Priestly 

Bridlington 

Dear Gear 

I've just purchased a Fret-King Super 60 SP and 

it knocks the pants off my American Standard 

Stratocaster. I played it solid for 2 hours last 

night with some whammy bar nonsense going 

on and it stayed in tune. Class! I love the sound 

and setup of the guitar and was wondering 

what make and gauge of strings they ship from 

the factory. I am assuming they are 9's of some 

description but want to replace them like for like. 

Good work by you guys for making a good guitar 

(the Strat®) into a great guitar. Look forward to 

your response and keep up the good work! 

Fraser Coull 

via email 

Fitting a set of Dunlop 9-46 (Light/Heavy 

Bottom) strings will keep your Super 60 feeling 

as good to play as it does now, Fraser. It’s a nice 

guitar to look at and play, thanks to high quality 

finishing and performance Wilkinson hardware 

(designed by Trev Wilkinson)– that vibrato system’s 

a beauty, and in conjunction with the staggeredheight 

Gotoh tuners providing an even string 

break angle over the nut, plus no friction causing 

headstock string tree, keeps it all sounding sweet 

and in tune, as you’ve discovered! 

Dear Gear 

I recently visited an old friend who told me he 

had taken up playing the guitar. After he gave 

me a spare copy of Gear magazine, he then 

64 

produced a high quality flight case which 

he opened revealing a beautiful cherry red 

semi-acoustic electric 335®-style guitar. It 

had the gold ‘Vintage’ logo on the headstock. 

I thought this guitar was unique as it was 

fitted with three black Wilkinson pickups and 

also featured one of the control knobs having 

push/pull facility to enable coil-splitting the 

pickups from humbucking to single coil. 

After looking through your mag, I’m 

guessing that this guitar may be 

from your Vintage AV3 range? 

I. G. Purdie 

Hawick 

Indeed it is from 

the Vintage range, 

and the guitar is 

in fact a Trev 

Wilkinson designed 

Vintage AV3PFCR. 

Fitted with 

Wilkinson three 

black, stacked P90 

humbuckers, these can be 

taken to single coil mode via 

an innovative rotary ‘Roll Control’ making this 

guitar a particularly versatile tone machine, 

which retails at £479.00. An attractive carved 

flame maple top (not a veneer) on a semiacoustic 

body also makes it comfortable to hold 

and easy to play. 

Dear Gear 

Regarding your Vintage left handed LEST96, I 

have recently purchased one and would like to 

say I am very impressed with the high quality 

workmanship. 

The bass is beautiful and made to a high 

standard. It’s now becoming the most played 

bass I own. It's everything I wanted in a bass 

and now I have found it, I can stop looking. 

Trying to find a nice left-handed bass is very 

difficult – so thanks for considering us left 

handers out there. 

Please thank the people on the factory floor 

from me. 

Neon River 

via email 

AV3PFCR k 

Thanks for letting us know you’ve found a bass 

which you really love! Information on more 

brand new left-handed additions to the Vintage 

guitar and bass range can be found on page 45. 

Dear Gear 

Alongside playing in a duo and a four 

piece folk-rock band I also do functions 

like birthday parties and wedding receptions 

as a DJ, which all keeps me pretty busy 

most weekends. As a result I seem to have 

accumulated lots of bits of amps and PA gear 

which is a nightmare to - (a) keep at home, 

(b) transport in my car and (c) connect up at 

gigs with wires absolutely all over the place. 

Got to admit, it looks ‘unprofessional’ and, if 

I’m being honest’ slightly dangerous. Health & 

Safety would not be happy. Is there one system 

you can recommend that can do these gigs 

and let me get some space back at home? 

Kenny Mitchell 

Warminster 

Wow, that’s a busy schedule, Kenny – we’re 

impressed! But it’s easy to keep adding and 

adding stuff as you’ve done to keep up with 

what’s needed, but there will always come a 

point where you want to start afresh! We reckon 

the best option for you is probably the HK Audio 

L.U.C.A.S IMPACT. A subwoofer + 2 x satellites 

system (get the stands to go with it to make life 

easier) it’s rated at 1,200 watts and has a 

seriously professional high quality sound with 

loads of thumping bottom end power for your 

DJ work, and will easily cope with your other 

gigs. It’ll take up hardly any space at home, fits 

in your car and if you also get the covers set it 

will keep it as good as new for years to come! 

You’ll also need a front end mixer of course, 

Allen & Heath’s ZED or PA series will do the trick. 

61

The Kyser Quick Change Capo 

America’s Favourite Capo 

While the Kyser Quick Change Capo clamps firmly for on-pitch intonation, you 

can quickly release it and slide it up or down – or remove it 

in seconds without disturbing the tuning. Made of strong 

lightweight aluminium, the Quick-Change is designed to be 

operated comfortably with one hand and 

never interferes with your fingering. 

Rubber lining & sleeve 

won’t mar or react 

with guitar finishes. 

Made in USA 

ACME have been producing 

Thunderer Whistle 

whistles and authentic bird 

calls for SINCE 1870 and have a reputation second to none. 

Acme products are used throughout the world; from school 

and orchestra use, to football match referees, concert and 

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SEE THE FULL RANGE AT WWW.JHS.CO.UK 

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62

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The Guitar Professor ® is a highly accurate, 

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Available in all good music stores... 

63

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64

string Swing USA products are suitable for live 

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65

Visit the ‘new look’ 

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66

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GEAR 23_COVER - JHS

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