Fight Over Kurt Cobain’s Martin D-18E Could Head to Court
A guitar familiar to anyone who has seen Nirvana’s famous 1993 MTV Unplugged session is in the middle of a nasty ownership battle, and its fate could be determined in court. A 1959 Martin D-18E which once belonged to Kurt Cobain is currently in the possession of Isaiah Silva, the estranged husband of Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean. […]
The Gear of 2016
To close out 2016, we’re taking a look at some of the gear we think made a big impact among musicians this year. We’re not saying this gear was the “best” of the year, but whether they intrigued us personally or stirred up a bunch of discussion on forums and Facebook groups, this gear definitely made […]
Gear Review: KHDK Dark Blood
There’s almost nothing like plugging into a big tube amp, cranking the volume, setting the gain just right, and letting that thing rip. It’s that x-factor, the “you know it when you hear it” sound, that keeps you coming back for more. There’s something going on among the combination of tubes, capacitors, resistors, transformers, etc. […]
Iconic Rigs: Chuck Berry
This month’s edition of Iconic Rigs takes on a seasonal flair, as we examine the gear of one of rock guitar’s pioneers: Chuck Berry. Chuck Berry’s Gear Albeit simple, Chuck Berry’s bipartisan combination of Gibson Memphis guitars and Fender combo amps laid the foundation for generations of rock ‘n’ roll guitarists. Berry’s catalog is so […]
The Record Player’s Guide to the Turntable
What’s more surprising than the revival of the vinyl record market? The revival in people not knowing what a record player or turntable is, what the things on it do, or how they work — or that record players and turntables are, in fact, the same thing! If you fit this description, don’t fret: we […]
Five Tuner Pedals With Bonus Features
When it comes to tuner pedals, most guitarists agree that the absolute most important quality is accuracy. If you can’t trust your tuner, you have nothing. Thankfully, just about any tuner you find today is going to be accurate to a degree of under 1 cent. That’s pretty darn precise — for reference, there are 100 cents between each half-step, […]
Iconic Rigs: Slash
The man, the myth, the top hat. Is there anyone out there who doesn’t know who Slash is? The guitar-playing community certainly knows, and I’d say it’s fair to claim that he’s extremely well known far beyond our our little circle. Along with his ubiquity, I would argue that he’s got to be one of […]
Meet the Velcro Lewis Group
If you stumbled upon the Velcro Lewis Group online, perhaps through their single “Bernadette,” which was featured on an episode of Showtime’s Shameless, and assumed they were a lost relic of a band from 40 years ago chosen by a music director steeped in rock ‘n’ roll gems, it would be hard to blame you. But listen closer and […]
Leonard Cohen Dead at 82
If we know anything about these times, it’s that sacrifices — whether earned or unearned — are coming. Leonard Cohen’s whole life was one moved by sacrifice. He was the first of his generation of Polish-Jewish immigrants to look for a better life in Quebec, Canada. Born into a middle-class family in 1934, his upbringing […]
