Gibson Gary Moore Les Paul Standard
Gibson has offered a few different Gary Moore Les Paul models over the years, and all of them have been beautiful. But I just can’t tear my eyes away from the latest: the Gary Moore Les Paul Standard. That Lemon Burst finish just kills me. This guitar takes many cues from the legendary ’59 Burst Moore was most associated with (the one that was previously owned by Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green). There are a few twists though, which set this guitar apart from previous Gibson Gary Moore Les Pauls. Continue reading
DiMarzio Ionizer 8 Tosin Abasi Pickups
DiMarzio has just announced the Ionizer 8 signature pickup set for Animals As Leaders’ Tosin Abasi. But wait, what’s this? “DiMarzio announced it will release three new Ionizer 8™ pickups developed for Abasi’s new signature 8-string Ibanez guitar in January of 2013.” Sa-weet! Great to see Ibanez doing another signature 8-string. And hey, Ibanez, if you’d like to do yet another one, gimmie a call. Hehe.
DIMARZIO TO RELEASE IONIZER 8™ PICKUPS FOR 8-STRING GUITARS
Staten Island, N.Y., December 11, 2012 – DiMarzio, Inc. welcomes Tosin Abasi, trail-blazing pioneer of modern heavy music and lead guitarist of progressive instrumental band Animals as Leaders to its roster of endorsers. DiMarzio announced it will release three new Ionizer 8™ pickups developed for Abasi’s new signature 8-string Ibanez guitar in January of 2013. DiMarzio will also make the Ionizer 8™ pickups available for retail sale. Continue reading
COOL GEAR ALERT: T-Racks Custom Shop
Do you use T-Racks? I love this program! Been using it since about 2000 for everything from mastering tracks to making my own better-sounding mix of Van Halen III. I’ve even been known to use it as a preamp for bass and acoustic guitar. T-Racks has just knocked it up a notch with the release of the T-Racks Custom Shop, giving you access to even more muscle for your mix. Here’s the press release:
New T-RackS Custom Shop Available from IK Multimedia
The mixing/mastering powerhouse now features 5 new processors, built-in Custom Shop, new bundles and a free version
December 6, 2012 – IK Multimedia is proud to announce the release of T-RackS® Custom Shop, the updated version 4.0 of its world-class mixing and mastering suite for Mac and PC. The new T-RackS CS offers five brand-new, must-have analog-modeled and digital processors, and it integrates the Custom Shop, IK’s exclusive online gear shop, which allows users to purchase gear models à la carte from within the T-RackS software itself, and much more. Continue reading
COOL GEAR ALERT: Ibanez RG8 budget 8-string
See, it’s stuff like this that ensures I remain an Ibanez geek even though I have guitars by a few different brands now. Ibanez has unveiled the RG8, an 8-string addition to their RG Fixed line, available in white or black. It’s a full 27″ 8-string (which comes factory tuned 1D#, 2A#, 3F#, 4C#, 5G#, 6D#, 7A#, 8F) with passive Ibanez humbuckers which will quite easily come out to make way for replacements if you wish to upgrade. That’s what I’m planning to do: I’ve been looking for an 8-string so I could do pickup reviews, but everything’s way out of my non-existent price range. Not these though!
You can read more about the RG8 here, and check out some more pics below. Continue reading
Mesa Boogie pedals!
Wow! Check this out. After decades of making killer amps and preamps (including the pedal-housed V-Twin and Bottle Rocket preamp pedals, if you wanna get technical about it), Mesa Boogie is getting into the pedal biz in a big way. They’re designed and hand-built in Petaluma, California and they’re going to be huge.
There’s the Tone Burst Boost/Overdrive…
There’s the Grid Slammer Overdrive…
There’s the Flux Drive Overdrive…
And the Throttle Box Distortion.
Click on the links to each pedal for more info and demos!
COOL GEAR ALERT: Ibanez Roadcore
Check this out! Ibanez RC320 Roadcore. Just saw it on the Ibanez UK Facebook, and the good folks at Andertons have posted about it here. One-piece bolt-on Maple neck with Rosewood fretboard; double-bound Mahogany body; Tight-Tune bridge, and CORE-TONE pickups. And it’s also available in black. Digging the old-sch00l-inspired headstock and the binding.
I like it. It’s like an FR got it on with a Talman while a Darkstone watched.
Ibanez UK has a great image gallery here.
Marshall revamps DSL line
The Marshall DSL50 has been my amp of choice for years now, and I’m still finding new sounds inside it. It’s a very versatile yet straightforward beastie which can pump out hard rock and metal tones as well as blues, jazz, classic rock… and it does it while preserving the character of whichever guitar you plug into it. Marshall has revamped the DSL line with several new amps.
Check out the new DSL100H, for instance. It has the same exact features and valves as the DSL100, but with an added Resonance control, digital reverb instead of spring, and a rear panel Pentode/Triode switch which drops the output down to 50 watts from 100. It also comes supplied with a two-way footswitch for channel switching and reverb on/off.
See the rest of the range here: it includes the tiny DSL15H head and the DSL15C and DSL40C combos.
COOL GEAR ALERT: Jackson X Series
Hi! I'm Peter Hodgson. I write for Gibson.com, Australian Guitar, Australian Musician, Mixdown Magazine (including my instructional column, 'Unleash Your Inner Rock God,' which has been running since 2007), Blunt, Beat (including their weekly hard rock/metal column Crunch) and The Brag. And I'm Assistant Social Coordinator with Seymour Duncan.
I've been playing guitar since I was 8 years old, and I've been writing for magazines since I was 18. I've also worked as a guitar teacher (up to 50 students a week), a setup tech, a newspaper editor, and I've also dabbled in radio a little bit. I live in Melbourne, Australia, and my hobbies include drinking way too much coffee, and eating way too much Mexican food.
You can check out my guitar playing at Bandcamp or on YouTube, and feel free to email me at iheartguitarblog@gmail.com