Category — Guitar Accessories

Veteran rockers Iggy and The Stooges have had all of their gear stolen yesterday (August 4th) in Montreal, just outside the Embassy Suites.

The band’s gear was parked outside in a truck, and the entire truck with all the gear was stolen somewhere between 6:30 and 7:30am. Inside was an insane amount of gear worth tens of thousands of dollars if not more. Everything from electric guitars, guitar amps, drum sets, effects pedals and accessories were inside the truck.

For more information and a full list of the gear you can go here. This really sucks, I hope for the bands sake they get it all back, some very serious pieces of equipment have been lost. In the meantime, they will be playing the remainder of their shows on rented and/or new gear.

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Guitar Blog has a great piece up (dated July 28th, 2008) about the inappropriate use of decals on guitars. In it, several points are mentioned about how it is not only deceiving to mark a guitar with the incorrect decal, but also an insult to the guitar you may currently have..

The most commonly used decals are Fender’s, these are put on everything from strat knock-offs to guitars that don’t even closely resemble a Fender. Squier guitars are common victims of the fake decal routine but as stated at Guitar Blog, you shouldn’t be ashamed to play a Squier Guitar as some of them are great guitars in their own right.

The desire to want guitars beyond your means is something every guitarist goes through. It is only after you  see many of your musical idols performing with cheap gear that you realize the instrument isn’t usually what makes them so good, it is their playing and that is what is most important.

Music Rising, a charity co-founded by The Edge of U2…is seeking to revive music culture in the Central Gulf region of the U.S. in the wake of all the natural disasters that have occurred there. To raise money the organization is holding its 2nd annual “Icons of Music” charity auction.

You can bid on all sorts of random items (including guitars, basses, etc…) from, essentially, a list of some of the most famous performers of all time…

Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, Foo Fighters, Bob Dylan, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley, the Beach Boys, Madonna, Otis Redding, Led Zeppelin, the Who, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, Ramones, Queen, Bo Diddley, Steely Dan, KISS, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett, Blondie, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, the Doors, Frank Zappa, Metallica, Oasis and more.

“Among the more interesting items: a hat worn by Bono, moccasins worn by Buddy Holly, a Patti Smith self-portrait, a cricket bat used by Queen’s Brian May, a bass played by Kurt Cobain, a guitar signed by Oscar-winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, The Sea Inside), a painting of Sid Vicious by Dee Dee Ramone, a trumpet played by Miles Davis, a wooden spoon signed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Madonna’s high school yearbook, and a toaster Elton John received as a wedding gift.”

Check out the site here for a more comprehensive list of items going up for auction.

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Music-equipment company Grpah Tech is releasing its new Supercharger Kits for acoustic and electric guitars. This is something of an upgrade kit for any older guitars one might have.

“The Supercharger Kit provides a complete solution to really improve any guitar’s performance including sustain, harmonic content/richness, string breakage reduction and tuning stability.” says Dave Dunwoodie, Graph Tech’s president and founder. “For 25 years, Graph Tech has created high-performing accessories that unlock the full potential of every guitar so musicians can play with confidence. This is the first time we’ve packaged them together in a simple kit format for our customers.”

“Three acoustic kits are available and include TUSQ® high-performance saddle and bridge pins. Electric kits are available for Tele and Strat (American, Import, or Offset) and for Gibson and Epiphone style guitars. Included in the kit are Black TUSQ XL nuts and String Saver™ saddles, installation instructions, two grades of adhesive backed sandpaper for nut installation, a Graph Tech pick and a hex key. Four bridge color choices — chrome, nickel, gold, and black are also available for Gibson and Epiphone style guitars.”

This package looks like it could be something really great for people with older guitars, especially those that need constant tweaks. My only complaint is that for people with older guitars such as Fender Mustangs, Jaguars, etc…This apparently cannot be used, as the only Fender’s its completely compatible with are Strats and Teles.

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To meet the demands of modern guitarists and their desire for heavier distortion sounds Seymour Duncan has released a new guitar pickup.

“Guitar tones are getting heavier and heavier. It’s just the state of modern rock music today. That’s a fact. Seymour Duncan has responded with the SH-15 Alternative 8™ their first production pickup to use an Alnico 8 magnet. The Alternative 8 starts with hot coils wound for maximum output. With the addition of the Alnico 8 magnet, the output is enhanced with a huge, punchy sound, full of fat mids and present upper-mids. This is a dynamic pickup that doesn’t get “sizzly” or dark. The Alnico 8 is perfect for all rock styles and it’s great for use with high gain amps.”

This pickup seems like it will definitely benefit players who rely a lot on heavy distorted tones. I’m anxious to play through this pickup and hear for myself how hot it sounds. On most of my guitars I have DiMarzio Super Distortio’s or JB’s. Also, I’m curious to see if this one is worth getting and installing on the Tele I’m going to buy. I might try to play through it at guitar center or somewhere before picking one up.

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Browsing through some articles I came across one about a new type of guitar tuner that’s coming out. It basically attaches to a guitar without drilling and can remain there, so you don’t always have to go searching for a tuner. The idea has already got the attention of several investors and they’re going to be producing, marketing and selling the product relatively soon.

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