Reviews – Page 2 – Guitar Fact

John Lennon Limited Edition Casinos by Epiphone

Figure 1 – The John Lennon 1965 Casino

In the 1960s Epiphone Casinos were ‘in’. And John Lennon wasn’t the only Beatles to own one. In fact Paul McCartney and George Harrison both had Casinos, as did Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. But it was Lennon who became most associated with the instrument, most famously playing it on the infamous rooftop appearance of 1969.

The Epiphone John Lennon Casino

Fast forward to November 1997, and a team from Epiphone visit “The Dakota” in New York to examine John’s Casino. They took measurements of the neck and body, studied the components and photographed everything, in order to create a guitar as close to Lennons original as was possible to acheive.

As a result and in cooperation with Yoko Ono, Epiphone proudly introduced the Limited Edition John Lennon “Revolution” and “1965” Casinos.

The “John Lennon 1965 Casino” is a reproduction of the guitar as John originally purchased it with the sunburst finish and stock hardware.

The “John Lennon Revolution Casino” is a reproduction of the “stripped” guitar featuring one coat of nitro-cellulose lacquer, gold Grover tuners and no pickguard.

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Gibson ‘Inspired by’ Dave Grohl DG-335

Gibson 'Inspired By' Dave Grohl DG-335

Figure 1 – The Dave Grohl DG-335.

2007 has seen a wide range of guitars leave the Gibson factory doors; from the standard instruments that are the companys bread and butter, to limited-number special-edition instruments: the Guitar of the Week range, numerous historical reissues, and of course the Inspired By range.

This is a series of instruments “inspired by and built to the exact specifications of passionate musicians and artists” – among them are Les Pauls (John Lennon and Warren Haynes), Flying Vs (Jimi Hendrix and Zakk Wylde) and three thinlines; the Roy Orbison ES-335, Keither Sutherland ES-336 and best of all the Dave Grohl DG-335.

So it’s a 335? Not quite……

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Gibson SG Reissue Bass

Some designs just don’t go out of fashion. Its been 46 years since Gibson redesigned the Les Paul, giving it those batwing cutaways and characteristic translucent cherry finish – and they haven’t looked back. Be it guitar or bass, the SG has attitude, and plenty of it.

Although the shape has seen continual use on guitars, Gibson didn’t produce a bass version for over 20 years. That was until 2005 when they launched the SG reissue bass.

But it hasn’t stopped there – as well as Cherry, White, Ebony, Canary Yellow, Coral Pink, Coral Blue, Silverburst, and faded finishes, there is the maple flamed-top SG Supreme, and a Supreme Fireburst.

Its not just looks that make a guitar; the SG reissue bass is proving a big hit for its sounds and playability too.

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Fender Automatic Guitar Tuner AG-6 Review

Fender decided to mix up the guitar tuner industry norms with the Fender Automatic Guitar Tuner AG-6. We’ve all seen the tell-tale signs of a cheap guitar tuner, but Fender is covering its tracks with the AG-6 model. In fact, this model has a few innovative design features- a backlit display, for example. The first thing that will be noticed, however, is the glossy and sparkly surface that screams 1980’s glamour.

Figure 1 – Three sparkling colors to choose from? The guitar industry is becoming chic- but does does the Fender AG-6 still function well as a guitar tuner? Continue reading

Guitar FX Box Review

Guitar FX Box claims to be a “real-time guitar/voice processor” with plenty of features. In this review, the voice processing feature wasn’t used, but the guitar distortion and recording features were taken complete advantage of. This small program surprises a lot of people with its cheap price of $20- and the wide range of features. This is well worth looking into if vocal or guitar recording is necessary for soloists or small bands.

Figure 1 – Guitar FX Box recording screen. Innovative layout, nice options, very functional- overall, nice design!

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Best of Rage Against the Machine by Troy Stetina

“Best of Rage Against the Machine” by Troy Stetina is one of the best guides to Rage Against the Machine tablature there is. Instead of following a certain album, it features the best hits of RATM such as “Bulls on Parade” or “Killing in the Name.” There are a total of 12 hits, as well as a handy CD that lets players hear the music while learning to play it.

Rage Against the Machine

Figure 1 – “The Best of Rage Against the Machine” by Troy Stetina

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