http://www.300guitars.com Guitar Mania by Billy Penn Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:01:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.300guitars.com/2012/01/jeff-becks-guitar-collection/ http://www.300guitars.com/2012/01/jeff-becks-guitar-collection/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:23:01 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=10310 My man Alan Gowa (who is the bass player in my band the Inside Drivers) hipped me to the cool video. Check it out!!! Tweet]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2012/01/jeff-becks-guitar-collection/feed/ 1 http://www.300guitars.com/2011/10/kts-titanium-saddles-for-a-gibson-les-paul-guitar/ http://www.300guitars.com/2011/10/kts-titanium-saddles-for-a-gibson-les-paul-guitar/#comments Tue, 11 Oct 2011 15:39:28 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=10195 Ron Banas from the band Lone Shark brought me his Gibson Les Paul for some TLC. The small notches in each saddle were worn and it was time for some new ones. Ron says he plays this guitar every single day. Who wouldn’t, it’s a really cool guitar. The neck is nice and chunky and... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2011/10/kts-titanium-saddles-for-a-gibson-les-paul-guitar/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2011/09/gibson-raided-by-the-feds-again/ http://www.300guitars.com/2011/09/gibson-raided-by-the-feds-again/#comments Sat, 03 Sep 2011 18:12:02 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=10034 I know this is a couple days old, but in case you didn’t know Gibson was raided again by Federal Agents. Gibson is being accused of being in violation of a century old law called the Lacey Act. This law protects endangered species which includes (you guessed it) wood. This law is apparently retroactive so... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2011/09/gibson-raided-by-the-feds-again/feed/ 1 http://www.300guitars.com/2011/07/franny-beechers-1959-gibson-es-350t/ http://www.300guitars.com/2011/07/franny-beechers-1959-gibson-es-350t/#comments Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:03:33 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=9957 Ok folks now here’s something you don’t see every day. Not only is this a pretty clean example of a 1959 Gibson ES-350T in natural finish but it used to belong to Franny Beecher who was one of the original members of Billy Haley’s Comets!! Yep, that’s right this guitar played its part in early... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2011/07/franny-beechers-1959-gibson-es-350t/feed/ 3 http://www.300guitars.com/2011/07/1959-ga-40-gibson-les-paul-guitar-amplifier/ http://www.300guitars.com/2011/07/1959-ga-40-gibson-les-paul-guitar-amplifier/#comments Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:40:43 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=9792 Now here’s something you don’t see every day. An extremely clean and 100% original 1959 Gibson GA-40 Les Paul Amplifier. This amp was brought to a local music store that sends me out of warranty and vintage amplifiers for repair and restoration. The gentleman that owns it bought it in 1959 and from what I... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2011/07/1959-ga-40-gibson-les-paul-guitar-amplifier/feed/ 3 http://www.300guitars.com/2011/06/a-little-les-love-from-google/ http://www.300guitars.com/2011/06/a-little-les-love-from-google/#comments Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:40:56 +0000 admin http://www.300guitars.com/?p=9751 Something very cool that Google did today for Les Paul’s birthday is make their home page logo into a playable guitar. Try it out! You can even record your track and share it with a short link they provide. Tweet]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2011/06/a-little-les-love-from-google/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/07/get-connected-with-gibson-chairman-and-ceo-henry-juszkiewicz/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/07/get-connected-with-gibson-chairman-and-ceo-henry-juszkiewicz/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:06:46 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8844 Whoa…it looks like Gibson is opening up a new forum called 4henry.gibson.com. Get this….the new forum will allow players to engage directly with chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz.  Gibson says: “The forum will be a venue for serious discussion on topics ranging from guitars to marketing and business ideas”. I hope he knows what he’s... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/07/get-connected-with-gibson-chairman-and-ceo-henry-juszkiewicz/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/joe-bonamassa-gear-interview/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/joe-bonamassa-gear-interview/#comments Sat, 19 Jun 2010 13:22:37 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8664 I found a three part video interview with Joe Bonamassa over on the Guitar Noize blog. Joe talks about his rig in great detail in the video series as well as his guitars. Joe calls his four amp setup the “monster rig” but the way he has it set up ends up being a very... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/joe-bonamassa-gear-interview/feed/ 1 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/new-gibson-les-paul-50s-studio-tribute/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/new-gibson-les-paul-50s-studio-tribute/#comments Sun, 13 Jun 2010 08:59:58 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8592 Maybe Gibson is moving in the right direction with this Les Paul 50s Studio Tribute series of guitars. Priced at $1399.00 is a whole lot more affordable than some of the recent models that were introduced. The new model features a 50s Style neck profile, five different  worn 50s-style finishes, Gibson USA P-90 pickups, Switchcraft... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/new-gibson-les-paul-50s-studio-tribute/feed/ 7 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/gibson-guitars-relentless-energy-create-the-stunning-sg-relentless/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/gibson-guitars-relentless-energy-create-the-stunning-sg-relentless/#comments Tue, 01 Jun 2010 09:57:13 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8503 Gibson Guitars has teamed up with Relentless Energy to create a unique guitar called the “SG Relentless” – a priceless guitar made from a mahogany body layered with designs then lacquered and polished to a high shine. Other features include an ebony fingerboard with mother of pearl ‘R’ inlays, stainless steel frets and an incredibly... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/gibson-guitars-relentless-energy-create-the-stunning-sg-relentless/feed/ 2 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/new-article-gibson-historic-vs-vintage-p-90-pickup-routes-by-jim-pasch/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/new-article-gibson-historic-vs-vintage-p-90-pickup-routes-by-jim-pasch/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 09:07:54 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8453 Here is another cool article by our Vintage Guitar Guru Jim Pasch of the Parts Drawer. In this article Jim talks about swapping out P-90 pickups in a Historic Gibson Les Paul Special or Junior. This should be a really easy job right? Well….read the article and find out a tip that can save you... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/new-article-gibson-historic-vs-vintage-p-90-pickup-routes-by-jim-pasch/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/new-gibson-brad-paisley-j-45/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/new-gibson-brad-paisley-j-45/#comments Sat, 01 May 2010 16:43:03 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8223 Here is another new model from Gibson, the Brad Paisley J-45. This new model features Adirondack Red Spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides one-piece  mahogany neck with “modified V” profile and 24 3/4”-scale rosewood fingerboard. Man, Gibson is churning them out these days huh? A steal at $5158.00 MAP….. Click here to visit Gibson... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/new-gibson-brad-paisley-j-45/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/gibson-guitars-owes-irs-nearly-450k/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/gibson-guitars-owes-irs-nearly-450k/#comments Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:12:23 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8028 Here’s an interesting story about Gibson owing the IRS about $450k..!!! Looks like they are facing a tax lien, penalties and interest on the income and payroll taxes they owe. Don’t forget the  federal raid over rare wood and  allegations of price rigging this past year. Supposedly reps from Gibson are currently working this out.... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/gibson-guitars-owes-irs-nearly-450k/feed/ 2 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/50th-anniversary-1960-gibson-les-paul-custom-black-beauty/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/50th-anniversary-1960-gibson-les-paul-custom-black-beauty/#comments Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:25:37 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7912 Here is another ridonculously priced Gibson Les Paul guitar. MSRP is $7508.00. I can’t understand how and why Gibson is producing guitars like this. Even the Dr’s and Lawyers I know that play are not buying in this price range right now…. Anyway this is based on the original 1960 Les Paul Custom. Some features... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/50th-anniversary-1960-gibson-les-paul-custom-black-beauty/feed/ 7 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/new-gibson-john-hiatt-j-45/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/new-gibson-john-hiatt-j-45/#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:00:32 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7814 Gibson introduces the new John Hiatt J-45 model. This guitar is built to some of Hiatt’s specifications. Some features include: Sitka spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides, one-piece mahogany neck with a “modified V” profile, 24 3/4”-scale and Madagascar rosewood fingerboard. Other details include advanced, scalloped X-bracing, Fishman Ellipse matrix blend and preamp system,... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/new-gibson-john-hiatt-j-45/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/jazz-guitar-great-herb-ellis-passes-away/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/jazz-guitar-great-herb-ellis-passes-away/#comments Sat, 03 Apr 2010 01:08:33 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7821 First I’m hearing of this folks… Jazz guitar great Herb Ellis died Sunday March 28, 2010 of complications associated with Alzheimer’s. He was 88 years old. Ellis was inspired to play the guitar because of guitar legend Charlie Christain. Due to a lack of funds Ellis dropped out of college and went on the road... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/jazz-guitar-great-herb-ellis-passes-away/feed/ 1 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/vibramate-for-bigsby-tailpiece-mounting/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/vibramate-for-bigsby-tailpiece-mounting/#comments Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:19:44 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7802 One of the biggest negative aspects of mounting a Bigsby tailpiece on your guitar is that you have to drill holes. It is a definite committment and there is no way around it…..until now. The good folks over at Vibramate have come up with some hardware to allow you to mount a Bigsby tailpiece on... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/vibramate-for-bigsby-tailpiece-mounting/feed/ 4 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/ranting-on-relics/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/ranting-on-relics/#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2010 17:31:48 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7379 Relic…..the buzzword that gets tossed around a lot here in the guitar community. I read and look at lots of info about relic guitars. People’s methods, their pics, projects, tips, etc. and I have to tell you I’ve had it up to here with the whole relic thang and here’s why. What is a “relic”... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/ranting-on-relics/feed/ 13 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/cool-new-epiphone-emperor-swingster/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/cool-new-epiphone-emperor-swingster/#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:07:53 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7757 Hey there all you hepcats…! Here is a pretty cool looking archtop guitar for you to get your twang on with. It’s the new Epiphone Swingster. Some features include an arched select spruce top with maple back and sides, hand-scalloped bracing and sound post, and three-piece maple neck. This new Epiphone model aslo features a... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/cool-new-epiphone-emperor-swingster/feed/ 4 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/free-gibson-app-for-iphone-and-ipod-touch/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/free-gibson-app-for-iphone-and-ipod-touch/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:41:37 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7349 Monkey see……monkey do. Gibson has now joined the ranks of guitar companies releasing iPhone and iPod app’s. The Gibson app is free and features a tuner, metronome, chords, lessons and exclusive Gibson news, features, contests and events. With all these app’s coming out I am starting to regret getting my Blackberry….. Click here Gibson fans... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/free-gibson-app-for-iphone-and-ipod-touch/feed/ 4