Creedence Clearwater Revival Bayou Country CCR Rock n Roll
July 25, 2008 by Chazders · Leave a Comment
By the beginning of 1969, Creedence Clearwater Revival had already attained a small measure of fame with “Suzie Q” the hit song from the band’s self-titled 1968 debut. But the hit-making machine the group would become was just warming up, and in the decade’s last year, CCR would turn out a slew of double-sided hit singles and no fewer than three albums, each of which would go Platinum. Read more
Metallica Death Magnetic Reveal Songs for Track List & Album Cover
July 24, 2008 by Chazders · 7 Comments
What’s loud, dark, and will be kicking your butt in September?
Give up?
It’s the newest album from Metallica, titled ‘Death Magnetic’. And now, thanks to a goof-up by a sheet music site, we have the full track listing! Read more
Sunn Model T Amp Head & 412 Cabinet Review
July 21, 2008 by Chazders · Leave a Comment
Like all great inventions, the first Sunn amps were born of necessity. After the Kingmen stormed the charts in 1963 with their megahit “Louie, Louie,” the group’s bassist, Norm Sundholm, found that his amp wasn’t nearly loud enough for the large venues into wich his band was suddenly booked. He turned his brother Conrad for help, and by 1964 the pair had designed the world’s first high powered bass amp. The next year, with rock experiencing a massive growth spurt, their Sun Musical Equipment Company was well on its way to a place in the rock music history books, supplying rock band from Cream and the Who to Queen and Kiss with thundering stacks of loud, reliable gear. Now, over a quarter-century after its birth, Sunn, which was purchased by Fender in 1985, is taking a second stab at rock greatness. If the Model T is any indication of great things, just look at some of the equipment Sunn had pulled off.
While the 100-watt, 6L6-powered Model T and it accompanying 412 cabinet preserve the cool, shit-kickin’ look of Sunn of yore, its intelligent, flexible design and terrifying roar are anything but retro. The Model T features two independent channels that each feature a no-nonsense complement of controls: Channel one has knobs for volume, treble, middle and bass, while channel two adds a gain knob for dialing in the desired level of crunch; both channels share a presence control.
The rear panel boasts the usual array of speaker output jacks, a very welcome XLR out for direct recording and a handy “area/club” switch that shifts the amp to 25-watt low-power mode for use in more intimate-size venues. The rear panel also houses the send and return jacks for the Model T’s fottswitchable effects loop. For players who prefer to apply differing levels of signal processing to their clean and dirty tones, the amp has dedicated send and return level controls on each channel, and the loop is assignable to either or both channels, with a different dry/wet mix for each.
But while good looks, half-power switches and flexible effects routing are all well and good, they won’t get you very far if your amp blows up. To that end, the designers of the Model T have built in an excellent little feature that could very well save your life (or at least your career). Two LEDs indicate that status of the amp’s two pair of Groove Tubes 6L6 power tubes. If all is well, both LEDs shine green; if any of the four tubes fail, the amplifier automatically shuts down the tube with which it is paired and continues to function at half power, a status indicated by a red LED. This feature is quite comforting on high-stress gigs—especially if you don’t have an army of techs at your disposal and a backup amp fired up and ready to go.
Strapping on a PAF-loaded ’59 Les Paul Reissue and running the Model T through its Celestion 12T-75 loaded 4×12 speaker enclosure, I found it hard not to like the amp’s clean channel. Especially in 25-watt “club” mode, this channel produces springy, responsive tones that chime and pop without a hint of harshness. Cranking the clean channel’s volume in this mode yields wonderfully, AC/DC-style power section crunch, while pegging the clean channel at full power (do not try this if your landlady is cranky) was reminiscent of whacking away with a good ol’ Hiwatt set for maximum r&b. To my ears, the Model T’s crunch channel sounds like the happy wedding of a really good Marshall JCM800 and a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, delivering oodles of gain with tight, punishing low end and open, airy highs. I found that the gain control was a little drastic in the first part of its throw, sending the amp into full-out crunch at settings of 3 or higher. This little quirk is fine if you’re a gain-monger, but players looking for more-subtle “in-between” sounds may find it a little frustrating to find the sweet spot. Despite its hotter-than-hell preamp section, the Model T is also extremely responsive and cleans up exceptionally well when the guitar’s volume is backed off. Players skilled at manipulating their instruments’ controls will find that, with the two channels and a little finesse, almost any rock tone can be coaxed from this head.
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Free BOSS DS-1 Distortion Guitar Pedal
July 20, 2008 by Chazders · Leave a Comment
JUST ANNOUNCED: There is a free BOSS-DS 1 Distortion pedal giveaway competition on the website of Gear-Monkey, which will continue from July 17, 2008 through August 31, 2008. This is really a considerable amount of time to get you all ready and geared up for this jamming contest. The contest consists of points system which members earn 1 point for each post. Pretty simple huh? Now members can receive 100 points for getting friends to join the site. The only requirement is that the new member makes at least 20 posts. Whoever reaches the most points within the time frame stated gets to take home the FREE BOSS DS-1 Distortion Guitar pedal.
So you all you guitar gurus who want totally free guitar gear sign up and/or start posting, share this amazing news with friends.
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Dead Sexy Goddess on the Guitar
July 15, 2008 by Chazders · Leave a Comment
Playing guitar isn’t just talent, skill and aptitude, it brings sex appeal. Guys can look at this picture and gaze. However, when the roles are reversed, rocker chicks shed the glimpse at us.
Use Your Illusion - MJ Mirage GT
July 1, 2008 by Chazders · Leave a Comment
MJ Mirage GT
THE MIRAGE GUITAR WAS nurtured to fruition among the wine-growing valleys of California by MJ Guitar founder and owner Mark Johnson, whose exciting blend of vintage and space-age varieties was a formulated during the 22 years he spent building instruments for other manufacturers. In 1993, Johnson stepped out on his own and produced the first Mirage prototype, and by 1997 the company offered five different production models to its growing list of customers. These five models all share the same basic structure and art differentiated by their choice of wood and bridge/pickup layouts. Our review model is the Mirage GT ($2,695), which dons and the traditional layout of the Telecaster, with two single coils plus selector and master controls, and a fixed, low-profile bridge.
While the pickup/bridge layout may be familiar, little else about the GT seems to be from this planet. The extra-terrestrial body features a semi hollow poplar back (mahogany and alder are used on other models), capped by a deeply arched Western Maple top. This sleek lines of the sculpted body are exceptionally beautiful, especially the carved ridges that run down the center of each horn and flow into the top. This design appears even more fluid under the optional stunning metallic finish that changes from Emerald green to violet as the light strikes it. A deep chamber on the back to of the body creates a svelte joint for this set neck. Machined from a richly figured birds eye Maple, the well-proportioned neck provides a slinky journey from its 22nd fret down to the unusual head stock. This elegant structure is strengthened by a woven carbon fiber facing and an aluminum brace at the apex, both of which add to the futuristic styling. The result is a near straight string spread and easy access to the trust rod bolt.
Details seem to be the watchword at MJ Guitars, and the Mirage certainly bears up to scrutiny. The level of workmanship is very high: the glassy finish has been flawlessly applied to the complex curves, and the tricky, masked maple binding is surgically clean. The medium-size frets are well-seated and highly polished, and the mother-of-pearl bar inlays are a classy touch. Finally, the innovative pickup mounting deserves special praise: rather then split all the GT’s liquid contours with a pickguard, Johnson has mounted the pickups beneath a central plate that’s graded and finished to integrate seamlessly with the top. The body’s multiple curves must have made this feature a real head-scratcher, what an elegant solution.
Once plugged in, the Mirage did not disappoint. The Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II pickups deliver fat Tele tone, beefed up and rounded out by the semi hollow body and set neck. Clean sounds are crisp and fruity without any harshness producing punchy twang from the bridge pickup and warm and woody tones at the neck. Stroke up the overdrive, and the GT shifts up a gear, delivering greasy boogie, sustaining blues and that tough Tele raunch that can over rock a humbucker. A surprising array of buxom tones can be easily pulled from the GT’s simple electrics, but if you have different recipe in mind, look no further than the comprehensive option menu. Want a GT with 24 frets, 30″ baritone neck and a B-Bender? You can have it, along with your choice of pickups, frets, finished and just about anything else, all for a reasonable charge.
BOTTOM LINE
- So many companies offer to redesign the electric guitar for us, but it takes something very special to sway our loyalty to the traditional big names. Mr. Johnson has designed a superb instrument that could sway more then your loyalty with its intelligent balance of form and function. It plays great, sounds great and, in between, you can just enjoy looking at it.
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Courtesy of The March ‘99 issue of Guitar World. Writen by Dominic Hilton.
