Select Features and Product Reviews for Premier Guitar Magazine by Max Mobley
Interviews
Rush's Alex Lifeson "Walk softly and carry a big F-sharp suspended. If legendary Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson had a mantra, that might be it. That chord (technically an F#7sus4) is known to his legion of fans as “The Alex Chord,” or “The Hemispheres Chord,” as it is the opening chord to Rush’s 1978 prog-rock opus Hemispheres.That a single chord can be associated so strongly with one guitar player is testament to Lifeson’s influence on the medium. He is a guitar player’s guitar player. Where Steve Vai may make us say “I wish I could do that,” Alex Lifeson makes us say, “I wish I’d thought of that." read more
Martin Barre of Jethro Tull "The rich and complex history of rock ’n’ roll, as expressed through the electric guitar, cannot be told authoritatively without the including the work of Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre. Barre's contributions are cataloged under classic Jethro Tull albums such as Aqualung, Thick as a Brick, and War Child to name a few. Tull, masterminded by writer/guitarist/vocalist/flutist Ian Anderson and supported by Barre's guitar work, added concepts and progressive riffs that expanded the electric guitar's boundaries established by British blues-rock—a genre that was in full bombastic bloom when Tull's Aqualung was released in 1971." read more
Builder Profile: Rick Turner, The Father of Boutique Guitars "Not every guitar player recognizes Rick Turner’s name, but one could argue that every guitar player should know it. Many consider him the father of boutique guitar building because of the Model 1 guitar he built for Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham in the mid ’70s. Although he’s also known for his time at Alembic Inc., the brief period he spent at Gibson (before he “ran afoul of corporate politics”), and the three boutique guitar companies he runs today—Renaissance Guitars, Compass Rose Guitars, and Rick Turner Guitars—Turner’s Model 1 is what started it all."read more
Builder Profile: Carvin "Lowell Kiesel started Carvin in 1946, right around the same time Leo Fender got his company going. Both were experimenting with electrifying the popular Spanish and Hawaiian guitars of the era. And while Leo Fender, Ted McCarty, Les Paul, and Adolph Rickenbacker certainly share much of the credit for bringing the electric guitar to life, Lowell Kiesel was there too—he was just doing it in his own way. Going their own way is a good way to describe Carvin, and they proudly maintain the direct-to-consumer marketing and sales approach they’ve practiced throughout the company’s history" read more
Product Reviews
Danelectro 59' Original Electric Guitar
"You know that feeling you get from picking up an empty milk carton that you thought was full? That is what picking up the Danelectro '59 Original felt like when I first picked it up. That feeling was an excellent reminder of the brand's legacy. Danelectro began as a budget guitar—a Sears and Roebuck guitar (under the name Silvertone) whose case doubled as an amplifier." read more
Totally Wycked Audio Triskelion TK-1 Pedal
"For most electric guitar players, natural, even-harmonic amp overdrive and distortion is a kind of perfection—a balance of grit, grime, and clarity that’s at once rebellious and resonant. Then there are those who don’t like their distortion so civilized—players who like it to sound a little alien, a bit nasty, and occasionally just straight-up cruel." read more
T-Rex Mudhoney II Pedal
"With its ability to serve up everything from crunchy pop and bluesy boosts to full-throttled hard rock, the original T-Rex Mudhoney has become something of a favorite among fuzz fans. In many ways, though, the Mudhoney’s versatility could be frustrating, at least on stage, where there isn’t always time to tinker with your settings." read more
Blackstar HT Club 40 Amp
"In the throes of sweaty onstage inspiration, the last thing I want to do is count knobs or worse, study the front panel of a complicated combo before tweaking something that I feel needs it. Blackstar's front panel seems to be built by guitar players with a similar mindset." read more
Marshall JMD:1 100-Watt JMD102 Combo Amp "Legend has it that Who bassist John Entwistle enlisted drum shop owner and teacher Jim Marshall to build a bass amp loud enough to be heard over Keith Moon's drumming. A short time later, Pete Townshend walked into Jim Marshall's shop asking him to build a guitar amp so he could be louder than Entwistle. And the rest is a rock and roll history. So, when the grimacing FedEx guy abandoned on my doorstep a 70+ pound box emblazoned with the iconic Marshall logo, I knew that whatever lay inside should be very loud indeed. And it was." read more
5 Pedalboard Builders You Should Check Out "Once upon a time, the more pedals you had, the more duct tape you needed to strap them down to the stage. In today's clubs, amphitheatres, and garages, you're more likely to see the guitar or bass player's pedals neatly secured and cleanly patched within the confines of a well-designed pedalboard. Pedalboards have now gone mainstream, thanks in part to the five pedalboard makers in this interview. From mass production boards like Pedaltrain, to flashy custom models like Trailer Trash, pedalboards are far more than an expensive duct tape substitute." read more
Jam Pedals Custom Multi-Pedal "Though the company calls Greece home, Jam Pedals has made quite a name for itself well beyond Mediterranean shores. The beautiful, and fantastic sounding work from Jam Pedals has grabbed the attention of players including John Abercrombie and Nels Cline. Some of the most interesting products from Jam’s line are the company’s multi pedals, which are pretty much what they sound like—a player-specified set of Jam pedals in a single box". read more
Lightfoot Labs Goatkeeper GK3 Pedal "San Diego-based Lightfoot Labs are nothing if not single minded in their intent to make one of the best tremolo effects available. After all, the Goatkeeper GK3 is the only pedal they offer. But the payoff for this focus is a one-of-a-kind effect with excellent build quality and a wide range of sonic capabilities." read more
Malekko Heavy Industry Ekko 616 Pedal "Best known for their B:AssMaster fuzz box, Portland-based Malekko Heavy Industry has steadily expanded and refined their line of stompboxes over the years. Their latest effort is the Ekko 616 Analog Delay, a bucket brigade-style delay stomper and arguably their most versatile and affordable delay pedal yet." read more
"You know that feeling you get from picking up an empty milk carton that you thought was full? That is what picking up the Danelectro '59 Original felt like when I first picked it up. That feeling was an excellent reminder of the brand's legacy. Danelectro began as a budget guitar—a Sears and Roebuck guitar (under the name Silvertone) whose case doubled as an amplifier." read more
Totally Wycked Audio Triskelion TK-1 Pedal
"For most electric guitar players, natural, even-harmonic amp overdrive and distortion is a kind of perfection—a balance of grit, grime, and clarity that’s at once rebellious and resonant. Then there are those who don’t like their distortion so civilized—players who like it to sound a little alien, a bit nasty, and occasionally just straight-up cruel." read more
T-Rex Mudhoney II Pedal
"With its ability to serve up everything from crunchy pop and bluesy boosts to full-throttled hard rock, the original T-Rex Mudhoney has become something of a favorite among fuzz fans. In many ways, though, the Mudhoney’s versatility could be frustrating, at least on stage, where there isn’t always time to tinker with your settings." read more
Blackstar HT Club 40 Amp
"In the throes of sweaty onstage inspiration, the last thing I want to do is count knobs or worse, study the front panel of a complicated combo before tweaking something that I feel needs it. Blackstar's front panel seems to be built by guitar players with a similar mindset." read more
Marshall JMD:1 100-Watt JMD102 Combo Amp "Legend has it that Who bassist John Entwistle enlisted drum shop owner and teacher Jim Marshall to build a bass amp loud enough to be heard over Keith Moon's drumming. A short time later, Pete Townshend walked into Jim Marshall's shop asking him to build a guitar amp so he could be louder than Entwistle. And the rest is a rock and roll history. So, when the grimacing FedEx guy abandoned on my doorstep a 70+ pound box emblazoned with the iconic Marshall logo, I knew that whatever lay inside should be very loud indeed. And it was." read more
5 Pedalboard Builders You Should Check Out "Once upon a time, the more pedals you had, the more duct tape you needed to strap them down to the stage. In today's clubs, amphitheatres, and garages, you're more likely to see the guitar or bass player's pedals neatly secured and cleanly patched within the confines of a well-designed pedalboard. Pedalboards have now gone mainstream, thanks in part to the five pedalboard makers in this interview. From mass production boards like Pedaltrain, to flashy custom models like Trailer Trash, pedalboards are far more than an expensive duct tape substitute." read more
Jam Pedals Custom Multi-Pedal "Though the company calls Greece home, Jam Pedals has made quite a name for itself well beyond Mediterranean shores. The beautiful, and fantastic sounding work from Jam Pedals has grabbed the attention of players including John Abercrombie and Nels Cline. Some of the most interesting products from Jam’s line are the company’s multi pedals, which are pretty much what they sound like—a player-specified set of Jam pedals in a single box". read more
Lightfoot Labs Goatkeeper GK3 Pedal "San Diego-based Lightfoot Labs are nothing if not single minded in their intent to make one of the best tremolo effects available. After all, the Goatkeeper GK3 is the only pedal they offer. But the payoff for this focus is a one-of-a-kind effect with excellent build quality and a wide range of sonic capabilities." read more
Malekko Heavy Industry Ekko 616 Pedal "Best known for their B:AssMaster fuzz box, Portland-based Malekko Heavy Industry has steadily expanded and refined their line of stompboxes over the years. Their latest effort is the Ekko 616 Analog Delay, a bucket brigade-style delay stomper and arguably their most versatile and affordable delay pedal yet." read more