Bob Kilgore’s Harmonic Capo could be the Accessory of the Year. Unlike a conventional capo the Harmonic Capo has six individual rubber pads that rest gently on the strings at the 12th fret. This light resting action produces harmonics. When you fret notes below the Harmonic capo the notes will sound like harmonics creating a very unique sound coming from your guitar! To get an idea of what this sound like visit Bob’s website for video tutorials. The Harmonic Capo is only recommended for six string acoustic and electric guitars and is available directly from Bob at weaseltrap.com. Credit: Bob Kilgore/weaseltrap.com.

 The new NeoVin Pickups from GFS address the age-old problem…You want your Strat to retain the vintage look and sound but eliminate that pesky single coil noise.

The new NeoVins represent the best combination of performance, appearance and value of anything on the market. Are they true replacements for single coils?? GFS says yes. The calibrated sets offer a ridiculous amount of tone while shedding the traditional single coil noise- and to help you decide GFS has upgraded their return policy to THIRTY days- Don’t like ‘em? -send em’ back for a refund. (Please don’t cut the leads to be eligible).

By utilizing carefully tuned narrow aperture coils, thoroughly shielded, the Neovins are able to achieve a hum-bucking tone that faithfully replicates the best single coil sounds. By using specific alnico and neodymium magnets, the NeoVins dial in the best single coil sounds, from 50’s vintage to 90’s hard rock. There is a fine-tuned metal filter to the top plate of the pickup to notch just the right frequencies, and the entire asssembly is epoxied into a traditional single coil shell.

The result is the good old fashioned look you’re used to, and the good old fashioned single coil sound, minus the noise! In addition the NeoVins offer extremely low levels of handling noise and feedback, so they are especially well suited to high gain applications.

After 2 years of development NeoVins are finally available. There are four different sets for Strat type guitars: True Vintage, Fat Vintage, Mega-Texas and Power Rock. Available directly from Guitarfetish.com.

 The original was used on countless hits over the years, and the new Fender ‘65 Princeton Reverb is easily versatile enough to go from your living room to the recording studio to small gigs. It’s got the vintage vibe that Fender die-hards know and love, but the ‘65 Princeton Reverb isn’t only for the old-school guys who played ‘em 30 or 40 years ago-it’s for anybody who craves top-notch tube tone, naturally dynamic clean and overdriven tones, and unmistakable long-spring Fender Reverb and tube Vibrato.

The Fender 65 Princeton Reverb Amp is an authentic all-tube reproduction of the original classic! The Princeton Reverb amplifier delivers 15W through one 10″ Jensen Special Design speaker. This single-channel amplifier favorite has 2 inputs, reverb and vibrato effects with an included footswitch, and control knobs for Treble, Bass, Reverb, Speed, and Intensity. The tube complement consists of 3 - 12AX7s, a 12AT7, 2-Groove Tubes 6V6s, and 1 - 5AR4 rectifier tube. Covered with tough vinyl, the Fender 65 Princeton Reverb amp comes with a cover and footswitch. Credit: Fender and Musician’s Friend.

  What is the best product to clean dirty tolex without using harsh chemicals that may do more harm than good? Simple: Use “Simple Green“. Simple Green is the original Green cleaner not containing ammonia, citrus oils, bleach or petrollium distiallates. It is non-toxic, non- flammable, non-abrasive, biodegradable and the packaging is recyclable. Simple Green can be found at virtually any supermarket or home improvement center. It is concentrated so a little goes a long way. Old 60’s blonde tolex amps that can really look grungy come out looking new. It works great on the plastic type grill cloth as well. You will find many uses for this excellent eco-friendly product. Credit: Simple Green.

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 Ted Weber of Weber VST is best known for his guitar amplifier speakers. All different types of speakers. About 150 different types to be exact! What you may not know is how he got started, what his favorite guitar is and what is planned for the future of Weber VST. In this Spotlight feature Ted talks about his early beginnings in electronics and how Weber VST came into being. He also explains the different aspects of guitar amp speakers and how they affect performance as well as commenting on some of his other products. Ted is very knowledgable and shares his knowledge openly in this Spotlight feature.

The BYOC E.S.V. (Extra Special Vintage) 2-Knob Bender is quite possibly the sweetest MKII Professional Tonebender clone you can get. What makes the BYOC E.S.V. 2-Knob Bender so “extra special”? A redesigned PCB that fits the larger axial leaded capacitors and carbon comp resistors that makes the layout look nice and pretty. BYOC wanted the E.S.V. series to be aesthetically appealing on the inside (the outside is up to you!). Also the solder pads and traces were upgraded to be as beefy as possible.Thicker traces mean better signal flow. It also makes the PCB virtually indestructible and makes soldering a breeze.  

The next thing that makes the BYOC E.S.V. 2-Knob Bender special is the component selection. Using the highest quality and coolest looking vintage mojo parts we could muster up - carbon comp resistors, Vishay aluminum electrolytics, and Mallory axial leaded film capacitors.

But the heart and soul of any Tonebender is its transistors. The transistors in the E.S.V. series 2-Knob Bender are the most exquisite examples of Philips OC75’s. They come from the original factory sealed boxes, untouched by human hands for nearly half a century. BYOC has a very large quantity of these and it is this unique find that actually inspired the E.S.V. series. Each E.S.V. 2-Knob Bender kit comes with a hand selected set of transistors, all baring the same batch code.

So does any of this actually produce a superior sounding pedal? Here is what BYOC says: “Tone is such a subjective thing, that we don’t want to sell this product by saying that it sounds better than a similar circuit made from garden variety components and common germanium transistors.  But we can say that the parts in this kit cost a little more. And if you don’t mind paying a little more for the very best, then you will not be dissappointed with the BYOC ESV 2-Knob Bender. Credit: BYOC.

 Bridge Pins, Strings, Aspirin and Flashlight. Are these items in your gig bag? Check out the article “Gig Bag Essentials” for a list of must have items for your gig bag. They could save your gig! Credit: Musician’s Friend.

 Earlier this month the sale of Groove Tubes was officially sold to Fender Musical Instruments. This announcement was just made public by both companies. The service and products will remain unchanged under the new ownership by Fender. You can check out all the details on the Groove Tube homepage. One wonders what will the next acqusition by Fender will be. Gibson perhaps? Credit: Fender and Groove Tubes.

 Bob Schell, owner of Brookwood Leather says “Brookwood Straps are made for comfort, not just good looks. I start by hand selecting only the finest premium grade hides. In addition to cosmetic quality, I insist on leather substantial enough to do the job of dispersing the weight of even the heaviest guitar across the entire width of the strap. The result is fewer pounds per square inch on your shoulder. Each strap is individually made, one at a time, from beginning to end. I hand work each strap to make it more supple and pliable, and it will just get better with age and use. Every aspect of your strap is given my sincere effort to craft for you the finest guitar strap you will ever own”. Old world craftsmaship that will last a lifetime. Credit: Brookwood Leather.

 As rare as they come! Back in the mid 1950’s the folks at the Gretsch factory thought it would be a great idea to utilize the unique visual characteristics of knotty pine wood on a guitar. And if that wasn’t enough, they fused an actual ‘western’ belt buckle to the tailpiece for additional cowboy mojo. These rare original 6130 Knotty Pine guitars built during the Gretsch Brooklyn, New York era fetch major dollars on today’s vintage market. Now offered for the first time in limited quantities in over 50 years is the G6130 Knotty Pine Roundup! You’ll want to holler, “Yee-haa! Gitty-up!” when you gaze upon the arched book-matched knotty pine top with engraved ‘G’ brand western leather bound body, graced with the infamous western buckle tailpiece and steer head pickguard. You may even start wearing spurs when you see the detail of the cacti, fences and steer heads engraved on the block pearloid fretboard inlays and steer head on the headstock. Like the originals, “That Great Gretsch Sound” is produced by the combination of DynaSonic pickups and a Synchro-Sonic bridge floating on a one piece chambered mahogany body. Credit: Gretsch.