The Beatles looking babyfaced. A shirtless Jagger as slim and svelte as…well today. Although a 2015 topless Mick is something the world could do without. But we’re talking about rare Beatles and Stones photos from the early 60s, before the appointments of Sir Paul, Sir …
Gibson Explorer Blackout The Gibson Explorer Blackout owes a lot to the men in black, aka metal heads. In the late 50s, the groovy cats at Gibson were getting all Sci-Fi with their guitars. Created in 1958, the original Explorer was truly ahead of its time with …
Alvarez Grateful Dead Series
The Grateful Dead or the surviving members of the band, the undead, will be celebrating 50 years in 2015. Alvarez Guitars will be celebrating the same milestone of creating cool acoustics. To commemorate their shared birthdays, Alvarez has created The Grateful Dead Series. Now this could be perceived as weak if not for the shared history with the band and the brand.
Alvarez first collaborated with the Dead’s Gerry Garcia and Bob Weir in the 80s, creating signature models for each. The 50th anniversary signature series features solid grade A red cedar tops tripped out with classic Dead designs. Thanks to the materials and printing process, each guitar is unique. Kinda like the band’s shows. It’s enough to make you wanna bust out the tie dye.
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2 Tone’s Walt Jabsco Nutty Dancer Not many record label designs are this iconic. The stark black and white look of 2 Tone Records not so much overshadowed the bands it represented as it became inseparable from their identities. You’re not alone if you see …
Johnny Ramone’s 1965 Mosrite Ventures V1 The thirst for rock and roll memorabilia continues to prove more unquenchable than Jack White’s desire to start a new band. This past Thursday, Jonnny Ramone’s Red Mosrite guitar was auctioned off for $71,875. A sum that would have …
Wot! No Bike? Paul Simonon Exhibition
Paul Simonon’s Wot! No Bike? is a new collection from the punk rock architect now showing at the ICA.
Simonon is most famously known as the bassist for the Clash. That’s Paul on the cover of London Calling putting a smack down on his bass. He met bandmate Mick Jones at Art School where the two launched the idea of the Clash. At the outset, Paul’s design skills were more developed than his bass playing and he took lead of the band’s tattered visual image. Punk rock was (is?) a DIY art form and the Clash did it all. Lead by Simonon they created their own style painting slogans on their clothes. Their look became a template for many puck bands that were to follow. What? Did you think the safety pin just like happened? Continue reading A punker’s paint brush
The DTX502 Eletro Acoustic Hybrid Pack Yamaha is releasing the world’s first acoustic electronic drumset with its DTX502 Hybrid Packs. When you think of it, Yamaha is the James Franco of instrument manufacturers. They make guitars, their acoustics are actually very good, they make pianos, …
Yamaha DX7 With the success of Future Islands and the presence of keyboards on the latest Spoon release, 80’s synth was a major influence on 2014’s coolest releases. Any doubts of the resurgence of the 80s sound, check out the title of Ms. Swift’s latest …
Gretsch Chet Atkins Dark Eyes
On February 19, the holy grail of collectible axes is going up for auction at NYC’s Guernsey’s. Part of the Tom Doyle collection, there’s been a lot of ink spilt on the sale of the Les Paul Black Beauty. But it doesn’t end there. Mr. Doyle’s guitar case runneth over. His collection also includes the Gretsch Chet Atkins Black Top Proto, aka Dark Eyes. Chet Atkins was a famous country star in the ’50s. He famously played this Gretsch prototype on the song Dark Eyes given the guitar its name.
This guitar, an early 6120 prototype, was built in part upon Chet’s request for an axe that reduced feedback. What looks like f-holes on Dark Eyes is actually made from the material of Gretsch drums. Feel free to sit down if you need to avoid your head from exploding. In our eyes this is an equally amazing artifact as the Les Paul. It is the grandfather of all Gretsch 6120. Without it there would be no Gretsch Chet Atkins legacy, no Country Gentlemen, George Harrison or Bono Irish Falcon.
It’ll be interesting to see what this beauty fetches compared to the Black Beauty on Feb 19.
The iRig introduced on 2003, made it possible like never before to plug your axe into iOS possibilities. The most obvious choice was sister software AmpliTuBe, a kickass amplifier & effects simulator for iOS. The iRig also plugs you into GarageBand and other music software, including …
Foo Fighters Concert Poster by Chris Shaw This Foo Fighters concert poster is from a gig the band played at the Filmore back on July 26,1995. Twenty years later, Dave and the boys have kick off its Sonic Highways Tour in Chile as one of …
Deluxe Stratocaster HSS Plus Top with IOS Connectivity
What you’re looking at is the Star Wars of Strats. If James T. Kirk played guitar, this would be it. Tweet your friends, poke your neighbours, this Duluxe Stratocaster HSS Plus Top has a built in USB port which allows you to plug into any iPhone, iPad, iPod or computer with no need for an external device. We’re talking connectivity that’s easier than a power chord. You can record through Garageband or other software with superior signal to noise ratio and an amazing dynamic range.
Now we could of showed you a close up of the built-in USB port, but compared to the full body of this sexy Cheery Burst beauty, it’s kind of like staring at Bill Gates’ butt whole. You’re interested now aren’t ya? Click here for the full specs.
The future of rock ‘n’ roll will run you around $1,500.
PLAYER Musician’s Music Player App This is an amazing app that’s going to change the lives of a lot of guitar player’s. It also works for piano and ukulele, so Eddie Vedder will be happy as well. Although Eddie probably has a pretty good ear. For …
Punk Rock Blitzkrieg My Life as a Ramone Today is the release of Marc Steven Bell’s autobiography Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone. Marc, Marky Ramone, was number 2 of 3 drummers for the pioneer punkers. He replaced Tommy in 1978, who had …
Les Paul Black Beauty
This guitar widely believed to be most likely to give collectors a boner is hitting the auction block at Guernsey’s. It’s part of the Tom Doyle collection of which the coveted Les Paul is the top item up for bid. The auctioneer’s website describes the 1953 Black Beauty as the original prototype of the Gibson Les Paul guitar. Which is okay if you agree that the Gold Top version produced a year earlier was so flawed it didn’t count. Both guitar’s were produced with and for Les Paul. Which brings up another largely debated piece of history. Les Paul has been described anywhere from a designer to a celebrity consultant of the Les Paul. Think Air Jordans.
Anyway you look at it the Les Paul has inspired more guitarists than you’ll find at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame post gala brunch. And the Black Beauty is the guitar that Les Paul played and perfected for over two decades. The auction will be held on February 19 after which the Black Beauty could very well become the most expensive guitar in the world.
Place your bid here.