Have Fender got something right at last with the Pawn Shop Series?

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Now I'm not normally one for doing a piece on every new guitar released by one of the Big Boys in the Guitar World. I usually let the other guitar blogs cover that kind of thing whilst I continue ploughing through eBay and elsewhere for the weird and wonderful.

But, Wow! Here are some new issue Fender guitars that I'd actually want to buy. These are the Fender Pawn Shop Series dubbed in the marketing blurb as "Guitars that never were, but should have been", instruments with the "look and vibe of a modified vintage guitar and hybrid models that have never existed before".

OK, so these could be considered to be variants on existing models - indeed we on this blog have been very critical of Fender in re-issuing variants of the same guitars, mainly Stratocasters and Telecasters, over and over - but now Fender are being a little bolder with these designs, I believe.

One model which should already look familiar to us is the Fender '51, which is essentially a higher spec'd, bona fide Fender version of the Squier '51. The '51 was so-named because of its looks based on the '51 Precision Bass. I guess that the Fender '72 is likewise named after the 70s version of the same bass reissued and renamed the Telecaster Bass. The Fender '72 takes the '51 template but adds a chambered f-hole body and a neck humbucker. The other model in the series is the Mustang Special which features two Fender humbuckers and a hardtail Strat bridge.

Personally I'd love to get my mitts on a Fender '72 in surf green, which I think looks absolutely fantastic.

Thanks to Bill Cesavice on Facebook for the heads up.

G L Wilson

© 2011, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 10th year!

Epiphone Triumph II and more

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Let's make another exception to the implicit moral obligation we have here to not promote new models from big companies (what most so-called guitar blogs make a living from) - unless, like it is the case here, it's a real soft spot for a really cool one.

I don't know if I'm getting old but since I feel less and less receptive to pure excitement and macho display of musical skills, I enjoy playing bass more and more, so I'm looking at bass guitars more accurately. For the first time I have a real coup de coeur for one, the newly released Epiphone Triumph II. With its hollow body, F-holes and hidden pickups, it might seem devoid of any rock potential, but that's maybe what is so cool in it, its way to be one of its own, open to any music style for any musician, without forcing into anything.

Again a very good example of how you can upgrade a classical design with a little distortion - here the wide 'gipsy style' cutaway and the wooden bridge -, and keep a pure line. Then you can remember that Epiphone is not only providing democratic Gibson guitars to non-billionaire musicians (I imagine that most Gibsons are bought by fetishist old timers too old to play in a rock band ever gain) but sometimes manages to keep to their glorious past by proposing nice and original hollow-bodies.

Ah, and this bass is said to be powered by 'revolutionary NanoFleax™ and NanoMag™ pickups' but I don't have the slightest idea of what this means!

OK, I made my little Gibson bashing but they make of course the best guitars and Epiphone is part of it. There was another bass called Triumph made by Gibson in the 70s that is also quite amazing. A few weeks ago GL wisely pointed how the Jolana Diamond bass was a much better Les Paul bass that Gibson ever released, but the Triumph is a brilliant LP style bass, even though it doesn't bare the name. It looks almost too good to play on it, doesn't it?

And finally this is the ultra-classic Epiphone Triumph archtop acoustic guitar designed in the 30s, when Epiphone was the direct concurrent of Gibson - who solved the issue by buying Epiphone. So I don't know if the II in Triumph II makes it a inheritor of the Epiphone Triumph guitar or the Gibson Triumph bass but it both case that is quite a legacy!

bertram

Additional: The bass has been renamed the Epiphone Zenith so as a avoid a potential trademark conflict. G L Wilson

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Return of the Breadwinner

Last June I commented that Eastwood's proposed Breadwinner re-issue was not going to happen. Well, now it seems that the situation has changed and Eastwood are already taking orders for their Breadwinner tribute guitar which has already been shown at NAMM 2009. I guess that for whatever reason, Ovation (now owned by Fender) had changed their minds about allowing the re-issue.

Other than the obviously different-shaped headstock, there are quite a number of cosmetic features that are, quite frankly, inaccurate, and if I was shelling out best part of a thousand dollars for one of these, I'd want it to be a much more faithful replica than the guitar we see in the image above. I see from the specs that Eastwood are making trem-equipped models available, something that the originals never had.

If I was in the market for another Breadwinner I think I'd prefer to track down an original which could theoretically be cheaper than this Eastwood, although some retailers are already hiking up the prices of the originals. I bought my own 1976 Ovation Breadwinner back in 2006 for a little over £300.

Kudos to Eastwood for responding to public demand and making this re-issue available, but why the high price and why wasn't attention to detail better?

Moog surprise all and sundry with a new GUITAR, of all things!

Yes, it's official, after teasing everyone on 1st April saying they were going to start production of a guitar, legendary synthesiser manufacturer Moog have called our bluff and the Moog Guitar Paul Vo Collector Edition is now available to order.

But, despite its pedigree, this is not guitar synth and neither is it a midi-guitar. However, it does feature some pretty cool electronics that directly affect the strings of the guitar.

With three playing modes - Sustain, Mute and Controlled Sustain - this looks like a serious challenger to Fernandes Sustainer guitars.

"Sustain" gives infinite sustain on every string and at every fret position; "Mute" is designed for staccato playing, as it removes energy from the strings (a sustainer in reverse!), and "Controlled Sustain" sustains the notes being played while muting those that aren't (which is something the Fernandes system most definitely cannot do).

It sounds great to me! As a huge EBow fan I was very excited a few years ago by the idea of having a Fernandes Sustainer guitar, but two Fernandes guitars later and after much experimentation I have decided that, ultimately, they do not deliver the goods. However, this current Moog guitar isn't exactly affordable at $6,495, so I reckon I'll be sticking with my EBow Plus and Fernandes guitar for a while longer yet.

Epiphone announce EpiActive pickups: the design makes these looks awfully like the dreaded EMG pickups. Let's hope they sound better. (Sits back and waits for the backlash).

Reverend Guitars Announces Roundhouse HB-FM Electric Guitar: I wonder what Gibson will make of this? After all they didn't take too kindly to PRS's Single Cut guitar, claiming it infringed the design copyright of the Les Paul.

Gibson's Self-Tuning Guitar: "As the strings are played, the Powertune processor compares their actual frequencies with the desired notes and sends instructions - tighten the string this much, loosen the string by that much - to tuning pegs equipped with strong, tiny servo motors mounted on the back of the guitar's head."

Godin Improve Guitar Tone: High-Definition Revoicer to be included in selected guitars. The system is said to be like having two sets of pickups in one Godin guitar.

Blimey! Mikey scrubs up nicely, doesn't he?

As a big fan of the TV series American Chopper featuring the custom bike builders of Orange County Choppers, I was excited to hear that the Teutul family and the OCC crew have teamed up with Peavey to produce this curious offspring - the Peavey limited edition Orange County Choppers guitar - of which there will be just 100 built.

OCC in turn have built a Peavey-themed bike, featuring an on-board guitar amp, which will be the subject of two forthcoming episodes of the TV series.

Actually, this will not be the first bike with integrated musical gear that we've seen in American Chopper. I'm thinking of the "joke" moped that Mikey unveiled for Billy Joel who was expecting to see his dream motorcycle. It featured hideous piano-key graphics and had an old Casio keyboard attached to the handlebars, and a mic so he could sing along whilst riding!

Gibson custom shop announces the limited edition John Lennon inspired by Les Paul guitar model

Fender Introduces Joe Strummer Telecaster Guitar: I'm not normally a fan of these relic finishes, but this Joe Strummer tribute guitar looks just awesome!

Felix the Cat goes Psychedelic!

Here's the third in what would appear to be a series of Felix the Cat guitars from none other than the legendary C.F. Martin & Co: the Martin FeLIX III. Whilst I do think it's a nice fun design, I did prefer the design of the previous FeLIX II guitar.

Weighty recognition: C.F. Martin & Co. honoring songwriter with special guitars: That's Robbie Robertson of The Band, who supposedly put Martin's hometown of Nazareth on the rock 'n' roll map.

AXL Introduces Marquee Series Electric Guitars: a couple of variations on the usual Tele and Strat designs from this budget guitar maker. Nice move!

The Bettie Page Strat: hand painted by Pamelina H.

Ibanez Limited Edition 2670RE Artwood Twin Electric Guitar: Ibanez announce the most expensive guitar in their history, a re-issue of their 70s-era double-neck 12+6 guitar with a list price of just under $10,000.

Reverend expands the Stage King Series with the Club King 290 electric guitar

"The Club King 290 combines the acoustic richness of a full size semi-hollow with the clarity and bite of a 25-1/2" maple neck. The body is built from one slab of mahogany which is routed from the top, and then capped with a solid spruce top. Excellent sustain and attack are coupled with substantial resonance, for a thick tone that's suitable for blues, jazz and rock."

I wonder if they do one with a Bigsby on it?

Langcaster Introduces The Ultimate-Lo Three-Pickup Strat Kitset: You too can upgrade your own Strat or Strat-style guitar in an easy and inexpensive way to a custom built boutique instrument. It's gotta be cheaper than buying a Langcaster guitar made of 35,000 year old wood!

Guitar Center announces Gibson Jimi Hendrix Psychedelic Flying V guitars sell out in seven days

Reverend Expands Stage King Series With the Club King HB Electric Guitar: Excellent sustain and attack are coupled with substantial resonance, for a thick tone that's suitable for blues, jazz and rock.