Meet The Makers 34
Inside Manley Laboratories
Manley Laboratories is the name behind such venerable tube-based studio gear as the Massive Passive EQ, VOXBOX channel strip, Manley Reference Cardioid microphone, and much more. Check out our photo gallery, and take a look inside the Manley Labs factory in Chino, California!
Inside Etymotic Research
Recently, I got a chance to visit Etymotic Research headquarters in Elk Grove Village, IL to learn about their product development and testing processes, and a bit of company history. While there, I also got a sneak peek at their latest release, the ER3 earphones. Read on and find out why the company lives up […]
Taylor Guitars V-Class: Stillness Meets
Motion
Taylor Guitars is shaking things up for 2018 (and beyond) with a completely redesigned bracing pattern called V-Class. Developed by Master Designer Andy Powers, this unique V-shaped bracing achieves two characteristics in acoustic guitar design: rigidity for sustain and flexibility for volume. The V-Class bracing creates strength and stability through the middle of the top, […]
Interview with Tom Jones of TV Jones
Tom “TV” Jones is one of a handful of elite luthiers and pickup winders guitarists know by name. His interpretation of the classic Filter’Tron pickups found in vintage Gretsch guitars are regarded as the best out there –Gretsch themselves commissioned Jones to develop pickups for their higher end models, and TV Jones pickups are loved by […]
Mojotone Pickup Designer David Shepherd
With a fascination for the playing techniques of Eddie Van Halen and an obsession with tinkering with guitars, David Shepherd was well on his way to a career in pickup design from an early age. Though he played in a few bands with friends in his native North Carolina, Shepherd said he wasn’t planning on […]
Behind the Design: Alesis Strike Pro Kit
While designing the Strike and Strike Pro kits, Alesis engineers had two goals in mind: to provide drummers with their most powerful module yet, and to make an electronic kit that finally delivers on the promise of feeling like a real acoustic drum set. Josh Cuadra, Alesis National Sales Manager and Dan Recchia, Alesis Project Manager, recently paid […]
Interview with Stuart Spector
When Stuart Spector released the NS-1 bass for the first time in 1977, it was unlike anything the bass world had seen. Up until that point, electric basses were either derivatives of the popular Precision and Jazz styles developed by Fender, or were one of a handful of unique models designed by the likes of […]
Fender Refocuses on Acoustic Guitars
Billy Martinez, Vice President and Category Manager of Fender’s Acoustic Guitars Division, is on a mission. Data suggests that just 10 percent of people who purchase a guitar as a new player will stick with the instrument. Martinez not only wants more players to stick with guitar, but with Fender guitars. To do so, he thought […]
Andy Fuchs Interview
Andy Fuchs had a childhood that would make any guitarist green with envy: he grew up in a music shop during the halcyon days of classic rock. Yet despite his upbringing, Andy says the family business didn’t net him a roomful of gear. “Visions of Les Pauls and Marshalls being given to me for Christmas […]
