About a month or so ago, Fender discontinued their American Standard line of guitars. Details of the replacement line has finally come out, and they are now calling it the American Professional series. This new series encompasses their core American-made lineup of guitars and basses. One new addition is something I've wanted for a long time: an American-made non-vintage … [Read more...]
Christmas Ukulele Fake Book
By: Russ Aloha! Shhh! Do you hear that? That's the sound of the Christmas season upon us and do you know any Christmas songs on ukulele? If you're anything like me, the Christmas season rolls around and you think "it sure would be nice to know some Christmas songs." After all, they're catchy, bright, and even the sad ones still make you feel good in a way - a lot of them are … [Read more...]
Review: Swingin’ Jazz Ukulele
By: Russ Aloha! Let's talk about jazz and, more specifically, jazz on the ukulele. The ukulele shines when you play jazz on it, both with a low G and a high G string and the reason is pretty simple: due to the relative highness of the instrument's scale and the lack of an additional two low strings (the guitar's E and A strings), the tone is brighter, snappier, and … [Read more...]
Stew-Mac/JHS Pedal Kits
Stewart-MacDonald has long been known as one of the best places to buy lutherie tools and parts. Now, they have partnered with JHS Pedals to bring some of JHS's discontinued pedals back to life in kit form. Currently, Stew-Mac is offering five different JHS pedal kits: the 808 Overdrive, the All American, the Bomb Boost, the Low Drive Bass Overdrive, and the Old School Fuzz. … [Read more...]
Keeley Dark Side
Robert Keeley and his crew at Keeley Electronics have put out a number of interesting pedals this year, the most recent of which is the Dark Side: The Dark Side is the latest release in Keeley’s Workstation Series. The Dark Side produces Phaser and U-Vibe effects as well as a Rotary speaker and Flanger sounds that are all vintage inspired but with modern … [Read more...]