CNN has recently profiled Alabama ENT surgeon Kirk Withrow about his hobby of building cigar-box guitars: "There's a certain element of liberation to it. You're not bound by the rules of what you can get at the store," said the 33-year-old married father of two. "You have the ability to change the things you don't like and make them to your liking... you're pretty much … [Read more...]
Oz Noy – Being a 21st Century Musician
Oz Noy has started a guitar blog for Guitar Player. In his first installment, titled Being a 21st Century Musician Part 1: Vintage vs. New Gear, he discusses his opinion about playing old gear vs. new gear on gigs: There are a lot of options out there for new guitars, amps, and pedals that are supposed to have the vintage vibe, but to be totally honest most of that stuff is … [Read more...]
Fender Visitor Center
Fender have recently opened the Fender Visitor Center and have begun offering factory tours of their Corona, CA manufacturing facility. The Visitor Center features 8,000 square feet of exhibit space, featuring instruments, amps, photos, historical artifacts, and interactive displays. If you've followed this site for any length of time, you know that I am a sucker for … [Read more...]
Martin Guitar – History Retrospective
There are few, if any, modern guitar makers with the history of C.F. Martin & Co. Fewer still that remain family owned. Fortunately for those of us that enjoy learning about the history of the guitar and guitar making, the Martin family have maintained a lot of historical information regarding the early days of the company in Nazareth, PA. In the video below, Chris … [Read more...]
Leo Fender
Keith Richards talking about Leo Fender shortly after Fender had passed away in 1992: "He gave us the weapons," Mr. Richards said to the crowd of 950 about the man who invented the Fender electric guitar. Mr. Richards's parting shot to the crowd was what he called the "guitar players' prayer": "Caress it. Don't squeeze it." Leo Fender was born on August 10, 1909. He … [Read more...]