Month: December 2014

CONCEIVED IN THE BACKSEAT

CONCEIVED IN THE BACKSEAT

The Gibson Firebird 7

The Gibson Firebird 7

Cars have inspired plenty of rock ‘n’ roll songs. If you’ve ever put on a Bruce Springsteen album you’ve heard several of them. But the auto industry’s influence on rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t stop at allusions to route 66. In 1963, Gibson enlisted automotive designer Ray Dietrich to help create a new line of guitars that would become the Gibson Firebird.

At the time Gibson was losing the cool battle to Fender as many of their hollow body guitars were seen as old fashioned. This makes the choice of Ray Dietrich all the more head scratching. He was 66 and retired when Gibson approached him. Sure Dietrich had had an illustious career having been a player during the golden age of American automotive design. Dietrich Inc. was behind many custom luxury automobiles of the day creating designs for Lincoln, Ford, Packard and Studebaker. Still not the grooviest of choices for a guitar manufacturer looking to connected with young musicians. The result however was cooler than a convertible, although not immediately embraced. Continue reading CONCEIVED IN THE BACKSEAT

Rated R’n’R

Rated R’n’R

 

David Chase’s Not Fade Away

If you’re looking for some rock ‘n’ roll viewing over the holiday stretch, Netflix has loads of great documentaries and a few cool dramas. But if you’re like us, you may often get lost in the search engine abyss and find yourself settling for something called Pitch Perfect, which isn’t.

Well buried beyond the most viewed you’ll find, David Chase’s Not Fade Away. Truth be told, it’s not perfect either, but if your friends ask you what you’ve seen recently, you won’t have to lie. We can also say with confidence that fans of David Chase’s Sapronos will find lots to like about this rock ‘n’ roll drama set in 1960’s New Jersey. Continue reading Rated R’n’R

LAST MINUTE AXE IDEAS

LAST MINUTE AXE IDEAS

P1Site_Ultra

Epiphone Pro-1 Ultra Acoustic

A while back we wrote about Epiphone’s 30 under 300 x-mas promotion. We featured the SG Special. Part of the offering are 15 acoustics for under $300 or pretty close. The Pro-1 Ultra above has a listing of $329 on the company’s web site.

The Ultra is part of the new Pro-1 series which includes 4 models. This electro acoustic cut-away with Shadow Performer preamp and NanoFlex pickup system is the most expensive of the lot. But still it won’t kill you. All Pro-1 series guitars are loaded with new easy-to-play features. There’s an EZ-profile Neck, JumboPRO Frets, a shorter scale length, PRO-Ease strings and believe it or not the list goes on.

Now we’ve always adhered to the It’s long way to the top. (If you want to rock ‘n’ roll) school of thought, but if the ease of the Pro 1 series gets more guitars in kids hands then we’re down. Continue reading LAST MINUTE AXE IDEAS

AMP UP YOUR MOBILE

AMP UP YOUR MOBILE

Marshall Amps up mobilesThe Marshall Action Speaker

Some brands just have more rock ‘n’ roll swagger than others. Marshall walks the walk with big loud footsteps. And now you can get some of that swag for your mobiles and tablets. The Marshall Action Speaker connects to your mobile through a headphone jack or wireless. And it will make any mantel place 90% tougher once installed.

That Marshall crunch is supplied with an active stereo loudspeaker and bass reflex system.

The specifics are a 4-inch woofer, 2 x 3/4-inch dome tweeters with a frequency range of 50-20.000Hz and a crossover frequency of 4200Hz.

It’ll run you around $300.

Hear the full story here.

THE REDDEST GRETSCH EVER

THE REDDEST GRETSCH EVER

Bono's (RED) Gretsch

(GRETSCH)RED Electromatic Center-Block Bono Signature

This isn’t the first signature Gretsch with Bono’s name on it, but it’s the reddest. The (GRETSCH)RED Electromatic Center-Block Bono Signature bears the (RED) logo. (Product)red co-founded by Bono in 2006, partners with companies to create products. The sale of (products)RED see a portion of their profits go to fight aids, tuberculosis and malaria. Since it’s inception (RED) has generated 275 million dollars and changed the lives of over 55 million people worldwide. Continue reading THE REDDEST GRETSCH EVER