NAMM 2012: Jarrell Monte Pittman MPS signature guitar
Madonna guitarist Monte Pittman will be rocking his signature Jarrell MPS guitar at the Superbowl this Sunday. I had the opportunity to check this axe out at NAMM and it’s pretty impressive. There are plenty of tonal options, between the Seymour Duncan P-Rail, STk-S7 Vintage Hot Stack and Dime Bucker pickups and custom wiring, and the guitar has a really wide natural dynamic range. It’s capable of humbucker, P-90 and single coil tones and a bunch of ‘in between’ sounds that I’ve never quite heard from any other guitar. It plays really nicely, and they look very cool. What more do you need?
Here’s some info from Jarrell:
NAMM 2012: LTD Buz-7 Buz McGrath signature model
Unearth’s Buz McGrath always had some of the freaking coolest custom Ibanez models. So many of us screamed bloody heresy when he switched to ESP. It’s not that ESP guitars are bad or anything – c’mon, they’re amazing – it’s just that Buz’s ideas always worked so well with Ibanii. Would his ideas translate over to the ESP aesthetic? Well get a load of this:
Ooooh yeah. That’s the LTD Buz-7 right there, my friend. I especially like the subtly angled trem cavity (it’s really like that, yeah? It’s not an optical illusion?), the black bound maple fretboard, the Snow White Sunburst finish and the reverse headstock. Other features: neck-through-body construction, maple neck, alder body, 25.5″ scale, Xtra Thin Flat neck contour, 24 extra jumbo frets, EMG 707 active pickups, Grover tuners, Floyd Rose 1000 series bridge. More info here.
NAMM 2012: Black Veil Brides signature BC Rich models
Black Veil Brides guitarists Jake Pittz and Jinxx both have new BC Rich guitars and they’re both pretty freaking cool! I checked them out at NAMM 2012 and was most impressed. These two axes tap into the essential sig guitar criteria of being attractive to people who aren’t fans of the band as much as to those who are (BVB inlays notwithstanding, but even then they look kind of cool).
NAMM 2012: Vivian Campbell launches Buddy Blaze Shredder VC 25th anniversary model
Yesterday Vivian Campbell stopped by for a signing to launch his Buddy Blaze Shredder VC 25th Anniversary model, based on the Shredder he used in his Whitesnake days. That’s the original on top in the pic above, and the new version below. Only 25 will be made, with Seymour Duncan pickups including a Full Shred humbucker which will be signed by Seymour Duncan himself. A Titanium Floyd Rose is an option. Buddy’s about to relaunch his website but you can hit up his social media links for more info or to get your hands on one.
NAMM 2012: Buddy Blaze 7-strings
Buddy Blaze owns NAMM this year. Not only is he introducing the 25th Anniversary Vivian Campbell Shredder on Saturday (posted about earlier today here), he’s also introducing his first ever 7-string model. Check it out! Premium poplar body, Floyd Rose, 24 frets with incredible upper fret access, single volume knob and 3-way pickup selector, and it plays like a dream. Buddy has two prototypes on show at NAMM: a blue one with ebony fretboard and DiMarzio Crunch Lab and LiquiFire pickups, and an orange one with a maple fretboard and DiMarzio Blazes – although he has DMT Blazebucker pickups with Alnico 8 humbuckers available too. Dig those cool heptagonal inlays! Get to NAMM and check them out if you can. The blue one rocks my socks off. I’ll have more from the Blaze booth in the coming days including – good lord – the actual original shredder Vivian Campbell used in the 80s!
Grover Jackson launches new guitar company – GJ2
Legendary luthier Grover Jackson – yes, that Jackson – has formed a new company called GJ2, and the guitars look awesome. Check this out:
That’s the Arete, GJ2′s initial model. It’s available in two levels, 4-Star and 5-Star, with in-house pickups (or other brands on request), original Floyd Rose tremolo, compound radius 10″-14″ fretboard, high-access heel, neck through construction… different versions are available in basswood, mahogany and Korina. More info here.
The guitars will be made exclusively in California, and they’ll be available through an exclusive network of retailers from January.
Kudos to iGuitar for the heads-up!
COOL GEAR ALERT: Washburn Nuno Bettencourt N7VINTAGE
I’m so glad this axe exists. The Washburn Nuno Bettencourt signature model deserves a seven-string variant. This guitar just makes so much sense: killer Stephens Extended Cutaway neck joint for those high notes, big reverse headstock for extra resonance and sustain on the low notes, Original Floyd Rose bridge, aged alder body, Buzz Feiten tuning system, and of course that finish (or lack thereof) which really allows the wood to breathe and the high end to sing out. It kills me that I can’t afford this axe right now, because I can already tell that it would make my life infinitely better in every conceivable way.
By the way, dig the fretwork on the pics below.
PRESS RELEASE
Nuno Bettencourt’s Signature with a Seventh String Twist
Upon one look at the Nuno Bettencourt Signature Series N7VINTAGE guitar, it is clear that the ingenuity and attention to detail that is synonymous with the Washburn name is still top notch. Offering the same sleek style that lovers of the guitar legend have become accustomed to, and increasing the versatility with the seventh string, this instrument enables players to harness Nuno’s unique tone.
Offering a slim, aged alder body with a Stephens® extended cutaway neck joint, this beauty plays like a breeze. In addition to its supreme comfort, the sound of this axe is a perfect replication of Bettencourt’s signature sound thanks to the Seymour Duncan® Distortion pickup in the bridge position and the Seymour Duncan® ’59 neck pickup. The extremely fast neck offers a 22 fret ebony fingerboard with a maple neck and the standard stunning reverse headstock. With the Buzz Feiten tuning system paired up with Original Floyd Rose® tremolo, this guitar can take the most vigorous of playing and remain perfectly in tune.
As with the N4VINTAGE in the same series, all hardware and parts on this guitar are aged to give the look of a guitar that has been owned for years. The N7VINTAGE can give players the freedom they need to explore, along with the added ability to sound tight and feel right while playing.
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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), guitarworld.com, Tone Deaf, Beat and The Brag. I started I Heart Guitar in 2008. I've been playing guitar since I was 8 years old, and I've been writing for magazines since I was 18 (I'm 33 now). I've also worked as a guitar teacher (up to 50 students a week) and a setup tech. I live in Melbourne, Australia. You can check out my guitar playing at Reverbnation or on YouTube.
You can email me at iheartguitarblog@gmail.com