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/2011/08/happy-birthday-leo-fender/ http://www.300guitars.com/2011/08/happy-birthday-leo-fender/#comments Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:20:29 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=10022 Happy Birthday Leo Fender!! Yep, good ol’ Uncle Leo was born on this day August 10th in 1909. He would have been 102 years old and I’m pretty certain he would be at his bench in his lab cooking up some experimental pickup design or amp circuit.  So today when you pick up your Telecaster,... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2011/08/happy-birthday-leo-fender/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2011/02/fender-factory-tour-1959/ http://www.300guitars.com/2011/02/fender-factory-tour-1959/#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:39:39 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=9613 Here is a seven minute and twenty-six second look into the past. This is a really cool video of the Fender factory in 1959..!! You can see all of the factory workers doing their individual parts in the guitar building process. The factory is very modest, the workers have no dress code whatsoever and I... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2011/02/fender-factory-tour-1959/feed/ 2 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/09/finding-your-sound/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/09/finding-your-sound/#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2010 10:06:52 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=9266 I get a lot of emails from guitar players asking about how to get a certain guitar players sound. You know… a personal hero, a particular tone from a record and so forth. While there are ways to get close to the sound my question is “Why”? Why put all that effort (not too mention... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/09/finding-your-sound/feed/ 2 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/09/new-joe-barden-modern-t-style-bridge-pickup/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/09/new-joe-barden-modern-t-style-bridge-pickup/#comments Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:17:36 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=9242 Barden Engineering has a brand new T-Style bridge pickup now available. This is a new “modern” version of the classic Barden recipe. The new modern version features a heavier coil winding for a more aggressive tone and beefy sound. Best of all the price is the same as the original. Click here to visit Barden... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/09/new-joe-barden-modern-t-style-bridge-pickup/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/08/porter-standard-tele-pickup-set-review/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/08/porter-standard-tele-pickup-set-review/#comments Mon, 02 Aug 2010 08:53:49 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8933 There is a review of the Porter Standard Tele Pickup set on the Reviews page along with a video clip. This set of Tele pickups were hand made by Brian Porter. They feature alnico magnets, fiberboard bobbins, cloth wire and a nickel silver cover for the neck pickup. All of you who visit me here... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/08/porter-standard-tele-pickup-set-review/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/07/new-fender-limited-edtion-snake-head-telecaster/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/07/new-fender-limited-edtion-snake-head-telecaster/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:21:50 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8922 The new Fender Limited Edition “Snake Head” Telecaster model is now available..!! This is a Custom Shop creation replicating the first Tele prototype that was produced in the summer of 1949. Legend has it that good ol’ Uncle Leo and a few of his associates took the prototype from club to club for guitar players... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/07/new-fender-limited-edtion-snake-head-telecaster/feed/ 3 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/ny-amp-show-chihoe-hahn-interview/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/ny-amp-show-chihoe-hahn-interview/#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:53:32 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8742 A quick interview with Chihoe Hahn….talking T-style guitars..!!! Click here to visit my Youtube channel for demos. Tweet]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/ny-amp-show-chihoe-hahn-interview/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/new-victoria-ivy-league-amplifier/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/new-victoria-ivy-league-amplifier/#comments Fri, 04 Jun 2010 06:49:28 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8517 The Victoria Amplifier Company has just released the new “Ivy League” amplifier model. It is based on the vintage 5F10 Fender Harvard circuit. The original Harvard amp featured three inputs, Volume & Tone controls, a 6AT7 preamp tube, a pair of 6V6 power tubes and 10″ speaker. The “Ivy League” amplifer incorporates all of these... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/06/new-victoria-ivy-league-amplifier/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/fender-the-golden-age-1946-1970/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/fender-the-golden-age-1946-1970/#comments Fri, 21 May 2010 15:30:46 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8457 The new book Fender: The Golden Age 1946-1970 is now finally available..!! This looks like an awesome book and I want one now..!! Most people that visit me here know I am a Fender Tele guy (nut) and love all things related to the golden era of the Fender company. The simple practical designs, the... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/fender-the-golden-age-1946-1970/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/seymour-duncan-interview/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/seymour-duncan-interview/#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 15:23:28 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8422 There is a really cool video interview over on the Guitarnoize blog. There are 4 parts and Seymour talks about all kinds of pickups and designs as well as some of the artists he has worked with over the years. One of the coolest parts is when he talks about the Tele-Gib.. I built one... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/seymour-duncan-interview/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/danny-gatton-since-i-fell-for-you/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/danny-gatton-since-i-fell-for-you/#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 04:44:44 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8415 This is a little bit of a rough video clip of Danny Gatton playing Since I Fell For You. I think a lot of people think of Danny as a country or rockabilly player…which he was but he was so much more than just that. In this clip we get to see his jazzier side... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/danny-gatton-since-i-fell-for-you/feed/ 2 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/new-article-vintage-pots-metal-vs-plastic-shaft-by-jim-pasch/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/new-article-vintage-pots-metal-vs-plastic-shaft-by-jim-pasch/#comments Tue, 04 May 2010 18:13:17 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8175 There is a new article on the Guest Guru’s page by Jim Pasch of The Parts Drawer called “Vintage Pots- Metal vs Plastic Shaft”. Jim is our Vintage Guitar Guru here at 300guitars. In this article Jim talks about metal and plastic shaft pots that were used on vintage Fender guitars. Some people question the... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/05/new-article-vintage-pots-metal-vs-plastic-shaft-by-jim-pasch/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/banjo-roll-lick-video/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/banjo-roll-lick-video/#comments Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:56:53 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=8004 This is a really cool “banjo” type lick that you can use in country, rockabilly, swing and jump blues tunes. You have to get the right hand pattern down and then you can play the lick and expand on it. Tweet]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/banjo-roll-lick-video/feed/ 6 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/fender-vs-gl-necks-arent-they-interchangeable/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/fender-vs-gl-necks-arent-they-interchangeable/#comments Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:16:24 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7965 Every now and then I get an email or two from players asking about putting a Fender neck on a G&L guitar. Some of the G&L guitars have pretty thin necks and it is not easy to obtain a replacement from G&L if you don’t like the profile plus there are no readily available aftermarket... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/04/fender-vs-gl-necks-arent-they-interchangeable/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/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-keiths-guitars-but-were-afraid-to-ask/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-keiths-guitars-but-were-afraid-to-ask/#comments Tue, 30 Mar 2010 19:34:11 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7635 This page was sent over to me by my friend Alan Gowa who knows that I love this kind of stuff. Just like the title says…..everything you wanted to know. There is a bunch of great info and some great pictures as well. This page was created by Blue Lena with the help of Johnny... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-keiths-guitars-but-were-afraid-to-ask/feed/ 1 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/austin-amp-show-keleman-roadrun_ner-demo-with-lsl-t-bone/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/austin-amp-show-keleman-roadrun_ner-demo-with-lsl-t-bone/#comments Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:29:38 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7653 This is the Kelemen Roadrun_er amp. This amp has a real solid feel and a lot of punch. This amp with the LSL T Bone was a total match for me. LOVED the way the amp screamed and it great great tone and dynamics!! Tweet]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/austin-amp-show-keleman-roadrun_ner-demo-with-lsl-t-bone/feed/ 4 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/austin-amp-show-lance-lerman-of-lsl-guitars/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/austin-amp-show-lance-lerman-of-lsl-guitars/#comments Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:35:32 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7599 Here is an interview I did with Lance Lerman of LSL Instruments. The LSL guitars are awesome and are built by hand the old skool way. Super light, great tone and playability. Tweet]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/03/austin-amp-show-lance-lerman-of-lsl-guitars/feed/ 0 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/02/jim-campilongo-caravan-12-21-09/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/02/jim-campilongo-caravan-12-21-09/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:26:18 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7074 Here is a really cool video of Jim Campilongo performing Caravan. This was shot by DJFonzi on youtube. He only got the second half of the tune…..totally worth checking out! Love Campilongo!!!! Tweet]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/02/jim-campilongo-caravan-12-21-09/feed/ 2 http://www.300guitars.com/2010/02/guitar-pickup-repair-tips/ http://www.300guitars.com/2010/02/guitar-pickup-repair-tips/#comments Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:52:30 +0000 Billy Penn http://www.300guitars.com/?p=7178 This video may help you bring a guitar pickup that is not working back to life. A few simple tips and things to try before you send your pickup off for a re-wind. I always say if you do not feel comfortable take your pickup to a tech. Hit me up if you have any... Read More »]]> http://www.300guitars.com/2010/02/guitar-pickup-repair-tips/feed/ 6