When you’re buying a coffee table for your home or building a shed in the backyard, do you ever stop to think about where that wood came from? What about when you buy a guitar? Well, at Breedlove Guitars in Bend, Oregon, they are doing more than just creating environmentally friendly instruments; they are facilitating a new way of thinking. According to Breedlove, “owner Tom Bedell has traveled to each forest in Suriname, the Republic of Congo, and the Swiss Alps to verify individual harvest, chain of custody, and sound ecological practices.” Though what this company does is outside the norm, all it takes are the actions of one to create a chain reaction and potentially spark a huge wave of change. No one understands this concept more than Jeff Bridges. We all know the prolific actor for h...
Back at the beginning of the pandemic, guitar manufacturer Fender kicked off a promotion that offered guitar, bass, and ukulele players three months of free lessons on their Fender Play app. The giveaway was initially supposed to run for six three, but it was such a huge hit that the company is extending it through the end of 2020. “When quarantine began, we invited the world to make some noise with free access to Fender Play. Six months in, the world is louder than ever — and music still has the power to connect us all,” Fender said in a press release. “So until 2020 is over, our invitation is back, 3 months of free online guitar, bass and ukulele lessons. No cost. No catch. Just music. Let’s play on through to the other side.” It might seem a little peculiar for a business to be giving a...
Two-time Grammy-winner H.E.R. is the first Black female artist to launch a Fender Signature Guitar in the company’s 74-year history. H.E.R. first revealed the new axe in her performance Sunday at the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards. During the “In Memorium” segment, she covered Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”, ripping through a flawless guitar solo in the process. Now, that same model can be yours for $1,099. The H.E.R. signature Stratocaster comes with an alder body that’s finished with a new iridescent color, which Fender is calling Chrome Glow. It features a modern oval “C”-neck shape, which should be comfortable for most hand sizes, as well as Fender’s Vintage Noiseless pickups that promise a clean, well-defined tone. The custom neck plate is engraved with H.E.R.’s artwork. In a statement, ...
Our new music feature Origins gives artists the challenge of digging into the various influences behind their latest tracks. Today, Dawes reveal the things that “Didn’t Fix Me”. Now more than ever, we’re all on our own journeys to try and feel just a little bit better. Of course, the double-edged sword of it all is no matter how good a place we find ourselves in, this year has made it ever more clear that such harmony is frail. But as anyone with any experience giving or receiving mental health advice will tell you, that’s normal. Feeling 100% all the time is an unfeasible expectation — and that’s okay. If you ever need a reminder of that, Dawes have delivered what could be the perfect musical hug with their new song “Didn’t Fix Me”. Taken from the band’s forthcoming Good Luck with Whateve...
If you’ve ever contemplated learning how to play rockabilly music at home, then now might be the time to give it a try. Brian Setzer has partnered with Reverb to sell a handful of guitars, amps, and more from his storied career, several of which he used to help popularize the genre. The official Brian Setzer Reverb Shop will open to the public on August 26th online. Among the items he’s selling are a Gretsch 6120 Smoke Prototype that he used on The Brian Setzer Orchestra’s hit “Sleepwalk” and a leopard-print Gretsch Hot Rod that he played in the 2002 Disney film The Country Bears. He’s also listing a custom Gretsch Hot Rod in green pin-stripe and Gretsch Hot Rods in white and red sparkle, all of which were seen on various Christmas tours by The Brian Setzer Orchestra. Many of the other gui...
Actor and musician Jeff Bridges has teamed with Breedlove for a line of new signature model acoustic guitars. The instruments are sustainably sourced and feature Bridges’ “All in This Together” motto inlayed on the fretboard. As Bridges states in the press release, the elegant acoustic guitars prove “we can build beautiful instruments to make beautiful music that will resonate for all time, and preserve the trees, the lungs of our planet, which temper our climate, replenish our fresh water and provide shelter for our wildlife. We can make our instruments with salvaged or selectively harvested wood from sustainable forests, while still protecting habitat and sustaining the local community. We can make a difference.” The Breedlove Jeff Bridges “All in This Together” premium signature model i...
IK Multimedia has rolled out a pair of products that will appeal to guitarists looking to cut new tracks in their home studio. The AXE I/O SOLO allows you to interface your electric guitar with your computer or recording device, and the T-RackS Space Delay plug-in offers new production effects. The latest in IK’s AXE I/O line, the SOLO is true to its name — perfect for plugging in your guitar and getting results fast. It can power and ampilfy both a line or XLR input via IK’s Class A PURE mic preamp. In layman’s terms, it means you can use it as a pre-amp for guitars and other instruments, as well as XLR microphones. But as a guitarists’ tool, the SOLO excels, providing what IK calls “tone shaping.” This allows for a single instrument to emit a wide range of tones, which can be dialed...
David Lee Roth believes that his Van Halen bandmate Eddie Van Halen is likely done touring, doubting that the guitarist will be willing to endure “rigors of the road again.” Van Halen, the band, have not toured since 2015, and reports surfaced last October that Eddie Van Halen was battling throat cancer for the past five years. A month later, the guitarist was reportedly hospitalized for complications from drugs he was taking to combat the disease. Eddie had previously battled tongue cancer in the early 2000s. Just prior to the reports on Eddie’s health, Roth told radio station WRIF, “I think Van Halen is finished” and that “Eddie’s got his own story to tell.” Now, in an interview with the New York Times, Roth expressed doubt that Eddie would ever return to the road, in any capacity. “I do...